


PROMISES Part 1.

by Galaxy1234



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:14:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 25,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24322609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galaxy1234/pseuds/Galaxy1234
Summary: Six months after returning to hell to quash the demon rebellion, Lucifer is back on earth. Finally reunited with Chloe, together they begin the journey towards happiness. Just as they think they have gotten the hang of things, Lucifer finds himself in a desperate race against time to save the woman he loves, revealing his true nature to Dan in the process.
Relationships: Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar
Comments: 20
Kudos: 80





	PROMISES Part 1.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Patriotgirl5](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Patriotgirl5).



> This is my first ever fanfiction. I don't have a beta, so all mistakes are my own. I would like to dedicate it to my friend Patriotgirl5, thanks for all the help and encouragement.

PROMISES.

Gone. He was gone. He was gone and he was never coming back. It didn’t matter how many times she said those words, didn’t matter that her head knew they were the truth, she still didn’t believe them. Couldn’t believe them. Her fractured heart simply wouldn’t allow it. And so she stood in the cool night air on his balcony, in his penthouse, in his shirt, waiting. 

THREE MONTHS LATER.

“Chloe?” Dan gently nudged his ex-wife with his elbow trying to bring her back from wherever the hell she went these days, if she didn’t pull herself together soon she was going to earn herself a demotion or worse. Everyone had been walking on eggshells around her, cutting her enough slack to hog tie an elephant but even Ella’s seemingly vast reserves of sympathy were running a bit low. Lucifer was gone and yeah, sure, Dan missed him a lot more than he would have thought but it had been three months, who knew when the big guy would be coming back. “Chloe, do you agree?” he pressed her for an answer as he gathered up the papers in front of him and stuffed them back in the file.

“Yes, whatever you think,” she replied after way too long a pause.

Dan pushed back from the briefing room table and with a nod of his head encouraged Ella to do the same, they left the room together leaving the other woman alone with her thoughts. Dan wasn’t even sure Chloe knew what she had just agreed to but at least now he could go and arrest the son of a bitch and put an end to his murderous spree. It had been a difficult, time consuming case, finally putting it to rest would give him more time to try and help Chloe get her shit together. 

Chloe looked at her watch, it was a little after two, only another three hours to go and she could quite reasonably slip away. It was Friday after all. She knew Dan would be back from the arrest in plenty of time to pick Trixie up from her after school art club and then she would be staying with her father this weekend, just like every other weekend since Lucifer had returned to Hell. It had done Trixie and Dan a world of good to be able to spend so much time together, Chloe knew her recent mood hadn’t made her the best company. By the time she had tidied her desk, finished off a couple of reports and three cups of terrible coffee it was almost five. Close enough. She stood, shrugged into her jacket, threw her purse over her shoulder and practically ran from the precinct to the underground parking lot. 

The parking level at Lux was almost deserted, just a handful of staff cars dotted about, most people didn’t bring their own vehicles to the nightclub, especially on a Friday night. She drove past row after row of empty spaces right to the back of the building and pulled into the space next to Lucifer’s Corvette without any clear memory of the journey. Chloe ran her hand over the shiny black paintwork. Lucifer would be pleased to know his staff were keeping the car clean in his absence. She checked the hood for any residual heat out of habit, not in any real expectation but maybe just a shred of hope but as usual, it was as cold as the grave. She rode the elevator up to the penthouse, the familiar hum of the pulley system and the soft warm glow from the amber walls enveloped her as she leant forward to rest her forehead on the door, pulling back just in time as it slid open and she walked into the darkened apartment. She had the timing down to a fine art at this time of day, later, when there was the possibility of other users she stood at the back of the cab, knowing that she would be the only passenger travelling all the way to the top.

She didn’t bother turning the lights on in the large room, opting instead to flick the switch that operated the two fire pits on the balcony and the soft light behind the bar. She knew her way around the space so well she didn’t really need any light at all. She had felt slightly uncomfortable coming here to his home at first but she had been overseeing the repairs to the devastation left by the demons searching for Kinley’s vial. Once the penthouse was back to the way Lucifer liked it, she had begun to think of this as a second home. She felt close to him here, closer than anywhere else, it was, after all, the last place she had seen him, the place where he said goodbye and broke her heart. Everything about the place, from the elegant furnishings to the antique wall plaster to the normally well-stocked bar summed up the man perfectly. She slipped out of her sensible shoes, poured herself a glass of bourbon and walked out to lean on the guardrail looking up at the night sky. 

“Enough, Lucifer. This is the last time I’ll come here, I have to move on for Trixie’s sake,” her voice barely a whisper as she sank to her knees, the glass slipped from her hand spilling liquid over her bare feet, “I’m a mess and I know it’s not your fault, I know you had no choice but to leave us, leave me but I can’t keep doing this.” The all too familiar lie dripped from her lips like sun-warmed honey. She stood, picking up the now empty glass and went back inside for a refill. 

She had almost depleted Lucifer’s personal bar, again. She would ask Maze to arrange for it to be restocked in the morning but for now, she would have to make do with the last bottle of whisky from the top shelf. She knew it had probably cost the equivalent of a week’s wages but to be honest, she couldn’t tell the difference between it and the thirty dollar bottle from Costco she had shared with Linda last Friday evening. Lucifer would be appalled. She chuckled to herself as she imagined the look of disgust on his face if she had dared to pour him a glass of that rotgut. Not fancy enough for The Devil, it did the job though and the two women had been giggling like a pair of schoolgirls when Amenadiel had bought Charlie back from the park. He had simply taken the sleeping baby upstairs and stayed there with him. He carried the weight of the guilt he felt like a boulder strapped to his back, neither Linda nor Chloe knew how best to help him, although both continued to try. No one did brooding better than Amenadiel. 

A third of the top-shelf bottle in and Chloe was feeling no pain. She showered in Lucifer’s ridiculously large bathroom, the warm water flowing over her skin like a lovers caress. She closed her eyes and tilted her face into the gentle spray. She wondered if the cubicle was big enough to accommodate his wings, if he even needed to wash them. Did he preen like a giant bird? She giggled to herself at the image of Lucifer in one of his Armani suits, his head turned to the side licking his feathers to make them lie flat. It was such an absurd thought and yet he did indeed have wings, really, really big ones, how much control did he have over them she wondered. Could he….. Yes she had definitely had too much to drink. 

She turned off the shower and stepped out to dry, then wrapped herself in one of his best crisp, white shirts. As she slipped her slender arms into the too-long sleeves she caught a whiff of his scent still clinging to the expensive fabric, she closed her eyes and breathed it in, taking it deep down into her lungs as if somehow she could inhale his essence. She made her way to his bed, sliding between the gold satin sheets and holding one of the pillows close to her chest. She was asleep in seconds.

\--0--

Lucifer stood on his balcony, glass in hand, looking out towards a pretty good facsimile of the view from the penthouse above Lux. If it wasn’t for the inferior tasting bourbon, the stifling heat and the faint sound of tortured souls screaming out in pain he would almost believe he was home. Almost. 

He finished his drink, grimacing at the rough tasting liquid. He was Lucifer bloody Morningstar, Lord of Hell. The Devil. So why couldn’t he get a decent drink in this dad forsaken hellhole. Still, it was better than nothing. Almost. 

He felt her presence even though her actual body was invisible to him, he stole a sideways glance towards his bed, where he could just make out the faint outline of a figure under the sheet. He placed his glass on the table and carefully lay down on the sinfully comfortable mattress. He stretched out his hand towards the Chloe shaped lump and closed his eyes, he could almost feel her. Almost. 

Not for the first time since he had returned he wondered if he had been wrong to think he was coming back to rule Hell, to keep the demons in check, to save The World, to save her. Maybe he was stuck in one of the cells again, living through a Hell loop. It certainly felt like it at times like this. The lyrics of an old song drifted back to him, ‘so close and yet so far’ he closed his eyes and allowed himself to sleep for a precious few minutes before getting back to the fight. 

THREE MONTHS LATER.

Lucifer ran his finger down the list in front of him, erasing the names as he went until the scroll was returned to its pristine state. The irony of the situation was not lost on him, that he, Lucifer, fallen angel, the original rebel should have found himself fighting with all his might to crush a rebellion, maybe this was all part of his father’s plan or some sick joke on the old man’s part. Whatever had led him to this point, whether it be accident or design, he had finally prevailed. The last of the mutinous demons had been hunted down and very publically punished, order had been restored and the world above was safe from another demon invasion, at least for the foreseeable future. 

That damnable priest Kinley was safely tucked away suffering the only Hell loop the all too limited amount of guilt he felt allowed, he would spend eternity experiencing the agony and failure he had felt in his final moments on earth. An eternity of bleeding to death with the original sinner looming over him. Not quite the hell loop Lucifer would have chosen for him but he supposed it would have to do. 

Satisfied that all the loose ends had been tied up he extended his wings and flew from his throne to the steaming ground below. He was certain that the underworld could survive without its king for a while. He strode purposely through the canyons, past row upon row of cells, sending any unfortunate demon that found itself in his path scurrying away in abject terror. The Devil was taking another vacation and dad help anything or anyone that got in his way.

The last thing he did before walking through the gates of Hades was to run his hands over the rough walls on either side, leaving behind a light covering of ice rapidly spreading out in each direction. Get ready, detective, Hell has frozen over.

\--0--

The latest girl’s night was in full swing. Linda was busy giving free relationship advice to one of the plastic palm trees dotted around the dimly lit bar. Ella was trying to work out how to get to the actual booze in her cocktail by picking out the umbrellas, fruit, plastic flamingo, straws and ice. Maze was doing shots with the cute looking dentist from Delaware she had picked up from the floor earlier, or more accurately, she was doing shots, he was busy making his way back to the floor by sliding gracelessly off his bar stool. 

Chloe was watching her friends from her seat near the small stage, sipping her virgin Bloody Mary and nibbling on the celery stick. She didn’t think any of them had even realized she was stone- cold sober, she had given up drinking alcohol weeks ago - she estimated it had been about two days before her abused liver was planning on exploding. She had worked her way through the bar in the penthouse twice, Lucifer would be so proud. It was restocked now and waiting for his return, at least, that was what she had told herself when she left Lux that last time. She had thrown herself into her work and her closure rate was almost back to the high numbers she had previously only achieved with Lucifer as her partner. 

Amenadiel could almost bear to look her in the eye now, it had taken a while but he seemed to be over the worst of the brooding, blaming himself stage. She was pretty sure he had visited Lucifer in Hell at least once and whatever had happened between him and his brother he did seem to have found at least some small measure of peace and acceptance, lucky him, thought Chloe. She was still mad as Hell at the whole situation, she didn’t think that would ever change. She had pleaded with him to take her to see Lucifer, as had Maze but he had steadfastly refused. She suspected Lucifer had asked him not to and wouldn’t that lead to an interesting conversation when he returned. Trixie was down to only asking her mother three or four times a week when Lucifer was coming back. 

Her life had slowly returned to something approaching normal, if you could call being in love with The Actual Devil and having friends that included in their number an angel and a demon, normal. She finished her drink and stood up, time to call it a night. She made her way through the crowds to Maze, neatly sidestepping a guy who on seeing her approaching had obviously decided it was his lucky night. It wasn’t.

“I’m done, Maze. Can you look after them if I head home?” Chloe nodded towards Linda and Ella. 

“Sure, I’ll get the lightweights home safe.” Maze answered between shots.

Chloe left the bar and made her way along the brightly lit sidewalk, it was a beautiful summer night, warm, with the faint smell of the ocean on the slight breeze. She took a moment to enjoy the sound of happy voices drifting from the various bars dotted along the street before turning down the quiet side alley she had parked in earlier that night. She locked the doors and turned the starter letting her head fall forward to rest on the steering wheel. Not for the first time that night a wave of guilt and sadness washed over her, how dare she even try to enjoy herself when he was stuck down there in Hell, enduring who knew what. The not knowing was the worst thing, she had pleaded with Amenadiel and Maze to give her some insight into how his life might be now. Maybe it was the detective in her but she needed to know, as if somehow knowing meant she could share his pain, his fight. She took the wheel and headed towards her apartment, she was halfway home when her phone beeped indicating a text and as soon as she stopped at lights she checked the screen. 

Meet me at The Penthouse ASAP. Luke.

Chloe was confused. What was Lucifer’s head barman doing texting her at this time of night? She didn’t even recall giving him her number. What could possibly be so important that he expected her to head over there now? She decided to ring him in the morning. She tossed the phone back into her open purse on the passenger seat and carried on towards home. She made it as far as the next intersection before turning around and heading towards Lux. 

The elevator doors opened into darkness. “Hello. Luke, where are you?” Chloe stepped inside the apartment reaching for the switch on the wall to her right. Warm light flooded the main room, which appeared to be empty. Just as she was about to leave, a soft breeze blew the curtain at the end of the bed alerting her to the fact that the outer doors were open. “Luke?” She called out again as she made her way towards the terrace. The man standing looking out towards the cityscape was far too tall and elegantly dressed to be Luke. 

“What took you so long?” She asked as he turned to face her.

“Oh, you know how it is detective, I had a Hell of a time getting away,” Lucifer smiled briefly at his terrible pun before taking a hesitant step towards her, “I’m sorry, Chloe, I….”

She quickly closed the distance between them, putting her finger to his lips as she shook her head, effectively stopping any further conversation. She reached down, took his hand and slowly led him back inside towards the bedroom. They stood, face to face, for long moments drinking each other in. Chloe slipped out of her shoes and coat and tossed her purse in the general direction of the nightstand before reaching out to gently pull Lucifer’s jacket over his broad shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. A shaft of moonlight found its way into the room, briefly illuminating his face and Chloe got her first good look at the man she had grown to love. 

He looked exhausted, the creases at the corner of his eyes were more pronounced than she remembered, his hair less well-groomed and his beard just a little too long and unkempt. My god Lucifer, what have you been through? She ran her hands down his chest stopping when she reached the waistband of his pants, she looked him in the eyes as she slowly popped the button and slid the zipper down watching for any indication he was uncomfortable. His blank, unblinking stare was unsettling.

“Lucifer?” Talk to me Lucifer, tell me what you need. 

Hearing his name seemed to flick a switch and he visibly shook himself as he reached down and removed his shoes and pants followed by his shirt.

She had seen Lucifer naked on a number of occasions but this time Chloe was beyond grateful for the fact he was wearing boxers which, thankfully, he seemed in no hurry to remove.

“You appear to be a little overdressed, detective.” Mused Lucifer.

“I do, give me a minute.” Chloe bolted for the bathroom where she tore off her clothes before slipping into one of Lucifer’s shirts. She had made a promise to herself that should she have the chance, she would waste no more time pretending she didn’t want him but something about this just didn’t feel right. When she returned to the bedroom Lucifer was already under the sheet, waiting for her. He patted the bed at his side and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Some things never changed thought Chloe as she slid in next to him. She pressed herself to his side, resting her head on his shoulder. 

“I might be a little out of practice, detective, it’s been a while.” As if to emphasise his words, Lucifer clumsily caught his ring on one of her shirt buttons as he reached up to touch her neck. “Bollocks.” He cursed. He couldn’t believe that after everything they’d been through he was messing up their first time by acting like a teenage virgin.

Chloe smiled up at him, once again noticing how tired he looked. “Lucifer, we’ve waited so long for this, had so many miss-steps, a few more hours won’t make a difference will they?”

“No, I suppose not. Why?” Lucifer asked, placing a soft kiss on her cheek.

“I think I need a little time to process things, it’s late, I’m not thinking straight. I want to remember every detail and I’ve been drinking so….” it wasn’t a lie, she had been drinking, just not alcohol. She knew from past experience that Lucifer wouldn’t want to take advantage of her if there was even the slightest possibility her judgement was impaired. She didn’t want to deceive him but she could see he really did need to rest.

“As you wish, detective.” Truth be told, he was grateful for the delay, it would give him time to compose himself. The last thing he wanted to do was disappoint her. He needed rest too, he hadn’t realised quite how tired he was until he lay down.

She tilted her head to look at him before replying, only to find he was already asleep, she settled down again and joined him.

Chloe woke with a start, unsure where she was for a moment until the room came into focus in the faint pre-dawn light. Lucifer was tossing his head from side to side crying out softly in some unknown language, she didn’t recognise it at all, it sounded ancient, whatever he was saying he was clearly in the grip of a bad dream. She reached up to touch his face before softly calling his name. “Lucifer. Lucifer, it’s alright, you’re safe. Lucifer.” 

His eyes shot open and he sat bolt upright in the bed shouting, “ORESA, ORESA.” Before throwing his arms out to the side and scanning the room for danger. Realisation hit him at the same time as Chloe hit the floor with a painful sounding thud. 

“Okay, I’ll file that away for future reference,” she said rubbing her backside as she climbed back on the bed. “Don’t wake Lucifer when he’s having a bad dream.” Chloe wasn’t at all sure she wanted to know what gave The Devil nightmares but she was determined to help him anyway she could and so she forced herself to ask, “do you want to talk about it?” please say no, please say no, please say…

“No. I love you too much to burden you with my bad dreams, there are so many more pleasant things I do want to share.”

“You do, love me?” she had hoped, of course, knew in her heart but he had never actually said those words to her. It seemed oddly in keeping with their relationship so far to have him finally say them just after tossing her onto the floor and they say romance is dead.

“Yes, of course I do, detective. Why else would I fall asleep instead of giving you the best night of your life, then wake up and throw you out of bed.”

“Technically, the night isn’t over yet, Lucifer,” Chloe nodded towards the terrace doors and the still dark sky beyond, “so…”

He spread his arms wide and gathered her into his warm embrace, smothering her face and neck with feather light kisses before moving to her slightly parted lips, he traced their outline with his tongue, sharing breath, before dipping inside. His deft hands made light work of removing their remaining clothes. “Beautiful,” he sighed, as he ran his fingers down her sides stopping at her waist, “I wasn’t joking about being a tad out of practice, detective.” 

Chloe took his face in her hands, his dark eyes seemed to be all pupil. She saw arousal of course but beyond that something else, something new. She had never seen him look so unsure, so vulnerable. It seemed absurd that Lucifer, the man who had slept with countless people should feel that way with her. She had been with a grand total of four men in her life, four. But she instinctively knew that, for now, she needed to take the lead. She manoeuvred their still entwined bodies until Lucifer lay beneath her, his large, warm hands moving in lazy circles over her shoulders. Now that they were finally, finally going to be together she felt like throwing her head back and laughing but decided to spend the next few minutes exploring his body, worshipping him like the deity he was. 

“I love you,” Chloe reached down between their bodies to guide him to her slick entrance. “Welcome home, Lucifer,” she sighed, as he finally slipped inside her.

\--0--

Chloe heard movement from the bedroom and hurried up the steps to stand by the side of the bed. “Good afternoon. I was starting to think you were never going to wake up.”

Lucifer looked at Chloe, taking in the fact that she was dressed before asking, “What time is it?” 

“A little after five,” Chloe held up her cup of coffee and asked, “do you want anything, coffee, whisky, me?” 

“Well, the answer to that question is always going to be you and whisky but I really need a shower,” Lucifer dragged a hand over his face, “and a shave.” 

“Yes, you do, why don’t you go in and freshen up and I’ll fix us something to drink and some food, you must be starving. When did you last eat?”

Lucifer shook his head, “I really don’t recall but I doubt I am hungry enough to eat any food still in my kitchen after all this time.”

“I’m sure I can rustle something up from the cupboards, Lucifer. Go.” 

Lucifer rolled gracefully out of bed and made his way to the bathroom, re-emerging a few minutes later he found Chloe sitting at the table on the terrace. She looked up as she heard him approaching. His ebony hair was still damp from the shower, faint lines through his soft curls revealed he had simply run his fingers through it, his face bore the merest hint of stubble and he was wearing a loose fitting pair of pyjama bottoms and a blinding smile. Chloe swallowed hard and worked her tongue, trying to unstick it from the roof of her suddenly too dry mouth. She motioned to the chair at her side. 

“Well I know none of this was in my kitchen, detective.” Lucifer waved his hand over the food covering the table.

“No. I had it delivered,” Chloe looked a little sheepish as she continued, “I’m afraid I seem to have used up most of the stuff you had and forgotten to replace it, but at least your bar is restocked now.” She ended on a cheerful note. 

“So, you’ve been raiding my kitchen, bar and my wardrobe,” Lucifer laughed at her but was pleased beyond measure that she had felt comfortable enough in his home to do those things. “Good to know my stuff wouldn’t have gone to waste if I hadn’t managed to fight my way back.”

Fight his way back. Chloe didn’t want to know, just yet, exactly what that fight had entailed, she was beyond happy to have him here at her side. Their lovemaking had been every bit as perfect as she had imagined and she had spent a lot of time imagining it in his absence. A LOT. They ate in companionable silence, at least Lucifer ate and Chloe watched him, only occasionally picking at a piece of fruit or chunk of bread. 

Finally sated, Lucifer sat back in his chair and sighed, “I’d forgotten how good food can taste, thank you.”

“You’re welcome, although, I did use your account to pay for all this so technically you should be thanking yourself.” And just wait until you see your bar bill, let’s see if you thank me for that too.

A gently breeze found its way to them and Lucifer shivered, he would have to get acclimatised to colder evenings now that he was back on Earth. He might even miss the hellish heat for a day or two, he most certainly would not miss what passed for ether down there. Thick and cloying, the ash from the Hell fires mixed with the hot air making drawing breath difficult, to say the least. The pollution from the road far below tasted clear and sweet in comparison.

Chloe had noticed his discomfort and she suggested they move back inside the penthouse. She stacked the platters and plates and carried them to the kitchen, she would deal with them later. When she returned to the main room Lucifer had thrown on his dressing gown. He caressed the piano, lifted the lid and ran his fingers lightly over the keys. “I’ve missed music so much, nothing sounds right in Hell.” Lucifer bent down until his face was almost touching the ivory, he tilted his head and tried a few notes. He was pleased to find the instrument still nicely in tune.

“Do you two want to be alone?” laughed Chloe, although, to be honest, she did almost feel like an intruder.

Lucifer sat down, closed his eyes and started to play. It was as if he were pouring his soul into each and every note. His shoulders relaxed a little as he played and the lines marring his handsome face softened considerably, the music acting as a salve, healing him. 

Chloe was mesmerised by the wealth of emotions playing across his face. When he came to the end of the piece he sat back and folded his hands into his lap. She was surprised to find herself crying. She quickly wiped away the tears. “That was beautiful, Lucifer, what was it?” 

“A tribute to Caruso, not my own composition, I’m afraid, but it is a fitting piece to honour the great man. I had the pleasure of hearing him perform on a number of occasions, here and in Europe, such a pure voice, an amazing talent. Bloody awful card player though, his left foot twitched incessantly when he had a good hand.”

Chloe laughed at the revelation, trust Lucifer to remember a detail like that. What an amazing life he’d led, he had eon’s worth of stories to tell and she intended to worm each and every one out of him in the coming years. Years, she liked the sound of that. She sat down beside him and gently kissed his cheek. “I’ve missed you so much these past few months, Lucifer. I can hardly believe you are really here.”

“I missed you too, detective. How long has it been?” Time passed much slower in hell and to be honest he had been far too busy crushing the rebellion to keep track.

“Six months.”

Lucifer nodded. “It was longer for me.”

Chloe didn’t think her heart could stand to know how much longer and so she didn’t press him further, choosing to steer the conversation in a slightly different direction. “Does anyone else know you’re back?”

“No. Just you and Luke, of course, as I needed to borrow his phone to text you but I asked him not to tell the others just yet.”

“Is it okay if I tell Trixie?” 

“Has the urchin missed me, detective?” Lucifer knew the answer to that question, for some reason the child really liked him and even if he would never admit it to anyone, he actually quite liked her back. Which was a miracle given the circumstances and his usual distaste for the little creatures but the detective’s offspring had wormed her way into his affections. “Of course you can tell her. I think I should also let Amenadiel know. In fact, I’ll do that now.” Lucifer closed his eyes and placed his hands together in prayer. Barely a minute later the angel landed on the terrace, folded his huge wings away, crossed the room and gathered Lucifer up into a bear hug.

“Easy brother, anyone would think you’ve missed me.” Lucifer pulled back far enough to return the other man’s warm smile.

“Is Hell secure, do you need me to go down there? Luci, just say the word and I’m there.”

“Everything’s fine. I told you I could deal with it, no need to make a grand gesture. Besides, Linda would never forgive me if you left her alone with the baby just to bail me out.”

Chloe rose and went to stand by the bar, listening to the exchange. So, Amenadiel had visited Lucifer, he could at least have told her how he was or passed on a message or even taken Maze down to help Lucifer, damn him. She saw a very long conversation in their future, possibly involving knives if Maze was included. For now, she simply filed the information away and poured out two glasses of whisky. Deciding the time was right to fall off her wagon she added a third. She carried the drinks to the sofa, setting two of them down on the coffee table and taking a seat. She sipped the expensive brown liquid, letting it warm her throat as it slipped easily down, even she could tell it was good stuff. Maze had ordered the best, even though she probably thought it would be Chloe who ended up consuming the majority of it. Maze had been a good friend these past few months, they all had. She didn’t know how she would have gotten through without them.

Lucifer seemed to suddenly remember Chloe was also in the room and hurried to her side, sitting as close as possible and throwing a protective arm around her shoulders. Amenadiel sat in the tan leather chair opposite, still smiling broadly as he took in the sight of the couple. He nodded his approval. “So, when did you get back, Luci?”

“Late last night.”

“Last night and you only thought to tell me now?” 

“Well, I was a little preoccupied.” Lucifer drummed his fingers on Chloe’s shoulder.

“Ah, yes, of course. Sorry,” Amenadiel didn’t look sorry, he looked like the angel who’d got the ambrosia. He held his glass up to both of them before taking a sip, he grinned and offered Chloe a knowing look. “I should probably go and give Linda the good news and let the two of you get some sleep.”

Chloe saw the slightly panicked look on Lucifer’s face. It was fleeting but it was there. Was he worried his reputation and standing with his brother would be diminished if the other man knew the true details of the previous night. Men, they were all the same, even if her man was The Devil. She rested her head on Lucifer’s shoulder and forced out a yawn. Lucifer relaxed into her. 

Amenadiel set down his now empty glass and was gone in the blink of an eye. 

Five minutes later Linda was busy texting like a demon, Chloe couldn’t keep up with the flow of messages from the older woman. 

“Bloody hell. Just ring her.” Lucifer threw his hands up in exasperation as he made his way to the bar for a re-fill.

Chloe finally put the phone down twenty minutes later. She gratefully accepted the rather large drink Lucifer offered her. “I think it’s safe to say Linda is pleased you’re back. Oh and we are having dinner there tomorrow night.”

“What.” 

Chloe took a very large swig from her glass before continuing. “Don’t worry, it’ll just be Linda, Amenediel and Maze. Oh and Charlie. Just family, really. It’ll be nice.”

“It’ll be HELL.” The Devil did not do family dinners.

“Don’t worry, Lucifer, we won’t stay too long, a couple of hours at most. I promise,” in her heart she knew he needed time to readjust to life on earth but she had found it impossible to refuse Linda’s invitation. “Linda had a hard time at first, Lucifer, after you left. I think, in a way, she blamed herself, she knew the sacrifice you made to keep Charlie safe. Its just dinner.”

Reluctantly, Lucifer nodded his acceptance. 

Chloe decided to ring the precinct first thing in the morning and take a couple of personal days, she would also ask Dan if he could take care of Trixie for a while longer. Lucifer was her priority now, he deserved that and so much more. And truth be told she didn’t want to let him out of her sight for a while at least.

\--0--

“Tell me again, detective, why are we doing this?” Lucifer grumbled as he fiddled with the cuffs of his dark blue jacket. 

Chloe simply sighed deeply as she picked up her purse and made her way to the elevator door.

“I can hear your eyes rolling you know, detective.” Lucifer followed her, dragging his heels like a petulant teenager on their way to buy school shoes with their mother. 

When they pulled up outside of Linda’s house Chloe reached over and squeezed Lucifer’s hand. “Two hours, I promise.”

Linda pounced on Lucifer before he was even through the front door. Her tears marring his shirt where she had buried her head into his chest. He wound his arms around the tiny woman and planted a soft kiss on the top of her head.

“It’s so good to see you Lucifer. How did you escape from Hell, how are you feeling, are you okay?” 

“Which question do you want me to tackle first and can we at least come in?”

Linda pulled back and with her arm firmly attached to Lucifer’s side she guided him down the steps and into the living room. “Would you like a drink?”

“And we have a winner. YES. I would love a drink.” Lucifer detached himself from Linda and quickly sat, pulling Chloe down with him so that he was wedged into the corner of the sofa, hopefully beyond the reach of the diminutive therapist. 

Dinner was a surprisingly pleasant affair, good food and passable wine. By dessert, Lucifer had begun to relax and almost enjoy the company. The only stumbling block was Maze, the demon had eaten little and said less during the meal. She had, however, never taken her eyes off of Lucifer. Maze started to noisily clear the table as Linda and the others moved to the living area. 

“Before you sit down, can you grab another bottle of wine from the kitchen, Lucifer?” Linda had also noticed how quiet Maze had been, she didn’t really need more wine but her two friends did need to talk. 

Maze was leaning on the kitchen counter noisily drinking from a bottle of vodka, she drained the last of it and then threw the empty into the bin. A loud belch heralded her approval.

“You were very quiet during dinner, Mazikeen.” The detective was way too close to make Lucifer feel comfortable around the demon, especially given the way she was currently eyeing Linda’s impressive knife block but he had no choice as she was standing between him and the wine rack. 

“I should have been with you, I should have been at your side and you know it, Lucifer.” 

“You don’t belong down there anymore Maze, this is where you are needed now. After all, you are one of the people I was trying to protect.” Lucifer reached around her and grabbed the first bottle of wine he could reach, it would just have to do.

Maze nodded, she bent forward to speak directly into Lucifer’s ear. “I hope you ate Dromos’s heart first before feasting on the rest of those ungrateful bastards.” 

“Well, let’s just say you have a few less siblings now and leave it at that.” Lucifer whispered sadly. 

“You did what you had to do, Lucifer, what was necessary. Put it behind you and never think of it again.” 

“Easier said than done, Maze.” Lucifer continued picking the label from the wine bottle in front of him, he snatched it up and took it to Linda.

The baby monitor alerted them to the fact that Charlie was awake and demanding attention. Linda motioned to Amenadiel to stay seated as she left to get their son. When she returned, Linda carefully placed the baby in the crook of Lucifer’s arm, “Can you hold him a moment while I fetch something?” 

Lucifer held the baby awkwardly, fumbling with the squirming infant, he was a lot larger than the last time he held him at the hospital, more active too. Charlie threw his head back and opened his mouth wide, revealing two tiny white teeth in the front of his top gum. 

“Sorry, he’s a bit fussy at the moment, he’s teething.” Linda shot an apologetic smile to Lucifer as she moved the magazines on the coffee table searching underneath them. 

“Take him.” Lucifer practically threw the baby at Chloe who was seated next to him on the sofa. He stood up and headed towards the stairs taking them two at a time. 

“Don’t take it personally, Charlie, he doesn’t like any small humans, even half angel ones apparently,” Chloe tickled the baby under the chin eliciting a soft chuckle. “Isn’t he a silly old devil, yes he is, but give him a few years and he might just be your favourite uncle.” Linda handed the pacifier she had been hunting for to Chloe, within a couple of minutes Charlie had sucked himself to sleep, so Chloe lay him down on the sofa next to his mother. “I’ll go see what’s keeping Lucifer.” She whispered.

The door to the bathroom was closed and so she tapped softly, “Lucifer, is everything okay?” She tried the handle and finding it unlocked she opened the door a couple of inches. “Lucifer?” The door opened fully, having been pulled from the inside and Lucifer stepped out onto the landing. “Charlie’s asleep, Lucifer. Shall we make our excuses to everyone and leave Linda to get him to bed?” 

Lucifer nodded and hurried back down the stairs with Chloe following in his wake. 

The drive back to the penthouse passed in silence, Lucifer sat in the passenger seat with his head turned away resting against the window. Chloe wasn’t sure if he was awake or dozing, he was still catching up on the sleep he had missed in Hell so she too stayed silent. Once inside the penthouse Lucifer headed straight to the bedroom still without saying a word. He quickly stripped then disappeared into the bathroom. Chloe dealt with his discarded clothes, added hers to the pile and then joined him in the shower. She ran her hand over his broad back, once again wondering if the cubicle was large enough for him to extend his wings, she really wanted to see them again but she sensed this was not the right time to ask. Lucifer turned to face her, leaning down for a kiss. 

“Tonight wasn’t too bad, was it?” She asked as she gently massaged soap into his chest. 

“Not as bad as I had feared, no.” He answered, honestly. He had enjoyed seeing Linda again and Maze. The baby….not so much. 

“Lucifer, can I ask you a question?” She didn’t wait for an answer as she continued, “What is your problem with children?” 

“I have a far better question for you, detective. What is it you truly desire now?” He ran his hands over her body before picking her up, holding her against the shower door, soon all thoughts of questions and answers were washed away. 

Lucifer rolled over onto his back, his left arm still pinned under Chloe’s body and he used that to his advantage as he pulled her towards his chest, so that her head rested just above his still wildly beating heart. He used his right hand to gently brush her hair back from her face. “Lovely.” He whispered the word into the mass of dark blond curls now covering his mouth. 

Chloe snuggled closer to him, slipping her left leg between his, gently nudging his thighs apart to make room. The sheet beneath them was still damp as they had stumbled from the shower earlier without bothering to dry themselves. “Yes, it was,” she finally mustered the strength to answer him, “As a distraction technique it worked really well but I am still waiting for an answer to my original question.” 

Lucifer sighed, theatrically and spread his arms wide, covering the large bed from edge to edge in a less than subtle expression of submission. “I just have no real experience of dealing with the little creatures, they’re so small and I’m so not that I’m always afraid I’m going to step on one or something, that’s all.” 

For a moment, Chloe seemed satisfied with his answer and Lucifer relaxed imperceptibly but once again he had underestimated his detective. In a move that would have made Maze proud, Chloe rose up and straddled Lucifer, her hands pinning his arms to the bed, her bullet necklace swung forward and bounced off his nose. Lucifer’s eyes flashed red and a low growl escaped his throat. 

“Stop that. Less devilish growling, more actual words, Morningstar,” Chloe admonished. “I can’t believe you just lied to me, spill.”

“How dare you! I did not lie,” Lucifer pouted as Chloe tightened her grip on his arms. “I might not have told the whole story but what I did say was the truth.”

Something about the look in his eyes made Chloe back off, she released him, although, she knew he had simply been humouring her by allowing himself to be restrained. For a moment he looked old. Impossibly old, which, of course, he was. She settled herself at his side and wrapped her arms around his chest, this had gone from being a light-hearted request for an explanation of his dislike for children to something much deeper, more serious. She knew he had baggage, hell, they both did but this was a whole other level of hurt. 

“Its okay, Lucifer, you don’t have to answer, I’m sorry if this has upset you.” She peppered light kisses from his forehead down to his chin, trying to lighten the mood. For long moments he lay perfectly still, she wasn’t sure he was even breathing, did he actually need to breath she wondered, that was definitely a discussion for another time. When he did start talking again his voice was so quiet she had to strain to hear him. 

“After I fell, well, after I was dragged from heaven by Amenadiel, as you know I ended up in Hell,” he cleared his throat and continued, his voice stronger, “Amenadiel was always the loyal soldier and he took his duties very seriously. Father had instructed him to take me to Hell but he hadn’t told him which part. Hell is built in layers, most doomed souls end up in the top layer, a few, really bad ones, might be sent lower but none have ever ended up at the very bottom. So, obviously, that is where my dear brother decided to dump me. I was naked and bleeding, my wings pretty much destroyed in the rebellion, as helpless as an angel could ever be and he left me there. Alone, or so I thought. Alone would have been much, much better.” Lucifer’s voice broke and he fell silent again.

Chloe pulled the sheet up to cover both of them, giving Lucifer a chance to steady himself if he wanted to continue. She rubbed small, soothing circles over his smooth chest with her palm, offering some small measure of comfort and support.

“It’s dark down there, Chloe. The only light provided comes from the lava streams that flow over the jagged ground, occasionally they erupt and spew scolding embers into the air. There’s no escape from them, nowhere safe, you simply have to curl up and wait them out hoping most of them miss landing on anything vital. At first, I thought the threat of incineration was the worst of my worries but I was wrong. It wasn’t long before I heard them scurrying in the shadows. Vile little creatures, ugly as sin with no discernible language, cannibals who soon developed a taste for angel flesh. It took me years to defeat them and claw my way to higher levels.”

Chloe felt the salt sting of tears flooding her eyes, she wanted to offer some words of comfort but they refused to form around the lump threatening to close her throat. She had to settle for draping herself over him and tightening her embrace.

“When I was so rudely ejected from The Silver City it contained no human souls, detective, Hell simply does not accept that children could be so beyond redemption that they were deserving of damnation and so my first experience of the little creatures was here on earth. They remind me of those things, it really is most disconcerting and I always worry that one might surprise me and I’ll lash out. I’d never forgive myself if I hurt a child.”

‘So, you don’t bite the heads off children?’ Her words came back to haunt her, how could she have been so wrong about him, she was an idiot. “Thank you, Lucifer.” 

“For what?”

“For sharing, it explains a lot.”

“Is there anything else you’d like me to share with you?” He asked seductively, he had been pleasantly surprised by her stamina, not in the same league as his own but impressive none the less. If she wanted to go for round three he was more than willing.

“That thing you do with the red eyes, your devil eyes, can you do that even if you’re not feeling angry?”

“I suppose so, why?”

“No particular reason,” Chloe lied.

“Really? Now who isn’t telling the whole truth,” Lucifer concentrated and within moments his eyes were glowing red, Chloe’s own eyes dilated in response and her breathing quickened. “Well, I don’t need to be a detective to deduce the effect that part of my devilish persona is having on you.” Teased Lucifer. He marvelled at the fact she had gone from running away at the sight of his monstrous side to apparently being aroused on by it, if her roaming hands were to be believed.

Lucifer felt the exact moment he lost control, felt his face change. He pulled away from Chloe, turning onto his side to bury his now bald head in the pillow. Chloe reached out to touch his cheek, wanting to let him know she was okay with this side of him, accepting all of him.

“Don’t. Please, give me a moment detective.” Pleaded Lucifer. His red eyes were one thing but he knew his devil face was terrifying, even he didn’t like looking at his reflection.

“Did you let Eve touch your true face, kiss you?” She already knew the answer to that and even though she didn’t particularly relish the thought of kissing Lucifer when he was in full devil mode, she was damn well not going to let Eve be the only woman who had shared that intimacy with him.

“Yes,” Lucifer sighed deeply before continuing. “But it isn’t my true face. This is my face, the face I was born with. I was an angel long before I was The Devil, long before I gave myself that face,” he turned back to her, his face restored, his eyes inky liquid pools. “That said, I will work on the eye thing for you, I promise. So, round three or sleep?”

As it turned out, it was both. 

\--0--

“Are you sure you’re ready for this, Lucifer. You can always take a few more days.”

“I’m fine, detective. I think I need to get back to work, I need the distraction. It’ll be good to see everyone again.” Lucifer really didn’t want to be alone with his thoughts just yet, maybe later but for now he needed to be around people, around her. 

They entered the precinct together, walking down the stairs in synch. Ella was the first to spot them, her squeal of delight pierced the large open room as she dashed across the office, ponytail swinging wildly and attached herself to Lucifer. “Oh my god. You’re back. Where have you been? Look at you.”

“Hello Miss Lopez, what a welcome.” Lucifer manoeuvred himself and Ella towards Chloe’s desk. At least he was spared the task of letting people know he was back, by now the whole floor was well aware of that fact, if not the entire building. 

“Do you want a coffee? I’ll get you a coffee.” Ella dashed off and returned with two steaming mugs. Lucifer had pulled a chair over and now sat next to Chloe, pretending to look at the case file open on the desk in front of him. He took out his flask and improved the beverage Ella had provided. The forensic scientist showed no sign of leaving his side anytime soon, so Chloe sent her to fetch the report from their latest case. 

“So, what do you have to offer as a distraction today detective?” Lucifer shut the file he had not been reading, as the few words he had seen had shown that particular case to be as dull as ditch water. 

“Death by drowning in the middle of the desert or possible murder by trained rats.” Chloe held two files in the air. 

“Trained rats, obviously.” Lucifer took the folder and began to catch up with the case. During the morning a number of people drifted by to catch up with Lucifer, all seemed genuinely pleased to see him, the one notable exception was Dan. He sat hunched over his desk tucked away under the stairs, studiously ignoring both Chloe and Lucifer. Finally, just before lunch, he pushed back from his desk and slowly approached them. 

“I owe you an apology, Lucifer. You left before I had the chance to set things straight and now, well it’s just awkward man.” Dan shuffled his feet, his discomfort palpable. It seemed as if the whole precinct was holding its breath, everyone was trying to look without actually looking a deathly silence fell over the room.

Lucifer rose up, appearing to loom over the other man before surprising everyone by clutching Dan to his chest and patting his back. “Don’t worry about it detective douche. Daniel, sorry, old habits, we all made mistakes back then, myself included,” Lucifer pulled back and offered his hand in friendship, Dan gratefully accepted it. “Would you care to join us for lunch, Daniel?” 

“No, thanks but no, I have a lot of paper work. Just good to have you back big guy.” Dan practically bounced back to his desk. A collective sigh of relief filled the air and normal chatter was resumed. 

Chloe stood to join Lucifer. “Thank you.” She patted his arm in gratitude. It didn’t matter what Dan had done in the past, he was a good father to Trixie and she had hated to see the man so consumed by his misplaced hatred for Lucifer. An uneasy truce between the two men had been the best she had hoped for, this conciliation was unexpected to say the least and she welcomed it. “But lunch? I think we need to pay Mr Donaldson and his possibly trained rats a visit first though, okay Lucifer.” Chloe grabbed her purse, stood up and started walking. 

“If you insist. So, when do you want to make the grand announcement, detective?

“Grand announcement?” Chloe was confused, admittedly not an unusual state to find herself in around Lucifer.

“Yes. Informing people that we are indeed now an item.” Lucifer reached down to try to take the detective’s hand in his. It was like trying to grab a live eel squirming around in a bucket of water. 

“Well that would be never. I think we should keep our working relationship purely professional.” Chloe tucked her hands safely under her armpits.

“I don’t see why. You made very little secret of the fact you were dating Pierce.” The way Lucifer said ‘Pierce’ made it sound like the worst profanity in the history of the world. 

“Yes and look how well that turned out.” Sighed Chloe.

“Well you do appear to have spectacularly bad taste in men, detective. Present company excluded, of course. Detective Douche, Cain,” Lucifer ticked the names off on his fingers. “I would think people will be happy to know you have upgraded your love life.”

“I am not having this conversation here, Lucifer.” Chloe hissed at him. She ducked into  
the women’s restroom in the vain hope that Lucifer would respect her privacy. He didn’t. “Do you mind?” Chloe motioned to the exit as she entered one of the stalls, slamming the door behind her.

“No, not at all, detective. I’ll just wait here for you.” 

Chloe sat down on the closed toilet lid to wait him out. She heard the door to the restroom open and thought for a moment he had left until she heard a woman’s voice.

“Lucifer. I heard you were back, so good to see you. The place hasn’t been the same without you.”

“Thank you, Officer Baker, it’s good to be back.”

Officer Baker entered the stall next to Chloe’s and continued her conversation with Lucifer through the closed door. “A group of us are going out for a drink after shift tonight Lucifer, we’d love you to join us.”

“That sounds wonderful, but I’m afraid I have other plans tonight, rain check?”

“Sure, I’ll hold you to that,” shouted Officer Baker over the sound of the flush and the creak of the stall door as she opened it. Baker finished washing her hands and making small talk with The Devil. “See you later, Lucifer.”

“I look forward to it Officer.” 

Chloe opened her door and tried to dash past Lucifer, who was leaning nonchalantly against the row of basins.

“Not going to wash your hands, detective? Remind me not to let you put them anywhere vital later.”

“Trust me, Lucifer. That is not going to be a problem.” Chloe poked him in the chest with her finger. She had missed this so much, missed his silly banter, no one could irritate her the way he could. 

Lucifer theatrically brushed away the imaginary germs before following Chloe out of the bathroom, inordinately pleased that they had managed to fall back into their familiar working rhythm. He continued to annoy the detective all the way to the suspects sprawling property on the edge of the city. 

\--0--

The uniformed officer held the yellow crime scene tape up to allow the diminutive forensic scientist to enter the room, “It’s a bad one, messy.” He informed her. 

Ella gasped as she took in the scene of carnage in front of her. Blood, gore and pure white feathers littered the floor. Chloe stood motionless in the centre of the large room, seemingly in shock, her face and body splattered with blood, the odd feather poking through her tangled hair.

“Well, thanks for the backup Lucifer.” Chloe spat a stray feather from her mouth as she spoke.

“In my defence, detective, when you shouted ‘DUCK’ I did just that and you have to admit that was a swan. A waterfowl yes but not exactly a duck now is it.” He pointed at the mess on the floor.

“He’s got a point, Decker,” Ella took another picture of the mangled corpse at her feet. “That is most definitely a swan, or it was a swan, just looks like roadkill now.”

“You do have my apology for not intervening, detective but the savagery of the attack took me by surprise, the brutality was quite shocking, even to me. The poor swan really never stood a chance against you.” Lucifer nodded his approval, the detective had taken out the feathered assailant and managed to shot the human one in the leg.

“Yeah, respect Decker. Although, I have to admit, if I’d been the perp I would probably have let the tiger out of his cage instead of the bird.” Observed Ella.

“I’m going home to shower. I have feathers in ….well, just about everywhere. ” Chloe slowly made her way to the door, closely followed by Lucifer.

“You know, detective if we were in England now you’d probably have to report that to The Queen.” Lucifer informed Chloe’s back.

“Just get in the damn car, Lucifer.”

Chloe drove back to her place trying to steer the car and bat away Lucifer’s hands as he picked at the loose feathers covering her clothes. “Just leave it.”

“I’m only trying to help, detective.”

“Well, that’s not the sort of help I need right now, thanks.”

“What do you need?”

“Hot water and soap, lots of soap.”

As they approached her front door she realised that Trixie would be inside. Dan had said he would pick her up from school and bring her home. She looked down at her blood splattered clothing, not really wanting to put her daughter through the ordeal of seeing her mother covered in blood yet again. “Lucifer, can you try and distract Trixie so that I can slip upstairs?” 

“Of course, detective.” Lucifer stepped in front of Chloe and opened the apartment door.

“LUCIFER!” Exclaimed Trixie as she ran across the room to hug him, planting her face in his jacket, allowing Chloe to dart around the pair and make a dash for the stairs. 

Dan noticed the blood on his ex-wife’s clothes and raised his eyebrows at the other man.

“Not hers,” mouthed Lucifer. “She’s okay.”

“Great. I’ll leave you two to catch up. Tell Chloe I want details tomorrow,” Dan rested his hand on Trixie’s head as he made his way out the door. “Bye, Trixie. Be sure to ask Lucifer lots of questions about the past six months and don’t forget to tell him all the things you’ve been doing too. I’ll bet he’d love to stay and have a games night.” 

Bastard. “Goodbye, Daniel.” Lucifer slammed the door on the retreating man’s behind.

Chloe finally felt clean, it had taken a twenty minute shower and some creative use of a loofah but as she wrapped the warm fluffy towel around her slightly abused body she was satisfied she had removed the last bit of swan. She quickly dried and then dressed in her worn but comfortable navy pyjama bottoms and an old light blue sweatshirt before wrapping a small towel around her damp hair. She didn’t want to leave Lucifer alone with Trixie for too long, given his recent revelations regarding children. She soon realised she needn’t have worried.

“Feeling better, detective?” Lucifer tipped his head over the back of the sofa to look at her.

Chloe felt her stomach flip, why did he have to be so damn attractive and why was he flashing her his best disarming smile, she wanted to still be cross with him for the whole duck/swan debacle but when he looked at her like that, all she really wanted to do was jump his bones. Well duh. Disarming people with his charms was his thing after all. His mojo might not work on her but she was still a woman and his smile sure did. “Yes, thanks. What is that smell?” Cheese for sure, garlic possibly and fried peppers maybe.

“Dinner. I was reliably informed by your offspring that Wednesday is pizza night, followed by chocolate cake,” Lucifer pointed to the table. “Trixie put out the plates and cutlery, she wanted to eat here in front of the television but I felt sure you would insist on eating at the table. Child, your mother is here, come and eat.”

Trixie slid open her bedroom door and crossed the room to sit on a dining chair, flashing her mother a smile so similar to Lucifer’s that Chloe found herself doing a double take.

“She is all freshly cleaned, I have her word on that, her room has been tidied and her homework has been finished and inspected by me. Excellent work, at least a ‘B’ in my opinion, detective. Shall we?” Lucifer guided a slightly shell shocked Chloe to the table. She had been upstairs for less than thirty minutes. 

“The pizza was delicious, thank you Lucifer. It tasted homemade but I know that not even you could have made it in the time I was upstairs.”

“I called in a favour, detective.” Lucifer smiled at her as he cut slices of the chocolate cake, two small ones and a larger piece for Trixie. 

After dinner, Lucifer helped Trixie clear the table before they all retreated to the sofa. Trixie spent a few minutes sitting between the adults, closer to Lucifer than her mother before disappearing into her bedroom. “Goodnight, Lucifer. It’s really good to have you back.” She called as she slid her bedroom door closed.

Chloe pulled her legs up onto the sofa and wound her arms around Lucifer. They spent the next couple of hours holding each other and talking nonsense. Chloe was struggling to keep her eyes open but was loath to move, until a deep yawn escaped and she finally had to stretch her numb legs.

“I should go, detective.” Lucifer reluctantly slid his arm out from under her and started to get up.

“You don’t have to leave, Lucifer. You can always stay here tonight.”

“Are you sure?”

“If you want to that is.” Chloe didn’t want to push him if he wanted to go back to Lux that was fine, it was still early and the club would probably be filled with distractions.

“Yes. I do.” More than anything, detective.

“Just one thing I have to make clear, Lucifer. It won’t be like staying at your penthouse, we have to be …quiet. I don’t want to wake Trixie, okay?”

“I can do quiet.”

Chloe was slightly sceptical but decided to take a chance. She really didn’t want him to leave and it was obvious he didn’t want to go either. Lucifer left Chloe to get ready for bed whilst he showered. As he slipped into bed beside her she noticed that he had put his boxers back on. He put his arms around her and pulled her close. “Goodnight, Chloe.” He kissed her cheek before closing his eyes and falling asleep. Chloe made a note of that, if you don’t fancy sex then just ask him to be quiet.

She awoke to the smell of fresh coffee and animated chatter coming from downstairs. She reached for her phone, panicked to find it was later than she thought. Crap. Trixie would miss the bus if she didn’t hurry. She bounced out of bed and threw on her robe. She found Lucifer and Trixie standing in the kitchen, both fully dressed. Lucifer handed the girl her jacket and gave her a gently push in Chloe’s direction. “Give your mum a kiss goodbye, child and then off you go.”

Trixie did as instructed. “Goodbye Lucifer, I can’t wait to tell my friends you’re back.” Trixie high fived the devil, grabbed her backpack and left to catch her school bus. 

“Coffee?” Lucifer wiped his hand on his jacket then set down a large mug on the countertop in front of a slightly bemused Chloe.

Okay, who are you and what have you done with my partner? Chloe sniffed the mug suspiciously, finding it apparently alcohol free she took a large swig. Big mistake. Huge. She spluttered as the liquid hit the back of her throat.

“Oops. My bad, detective. This is yours.” Lucifer quickly swapped mugs as he slid his flask back into his jacket pocket.

“You might want to go up and shower, you are running a little behind this morning detective, we don’t want to be late for work and I really do need to stop at Lux on the way for a clean shirt, so off you pop.” 

Chloe duly went upstairs taking her coffee with her.

\--0--

Well this is new, thought Chloe as she poured Lucifer into the elevator at Lux. He didn’t seem to have been drinking heavily, not for him at least. What he consumed on any given day would kill an ordinary man in a week. Tonight, though, well if it was anyone else she would say they were wasted.

They had decided to stop in the bar for a drink before heading up to the apartment. It had been a long day at work, mostly finishing off case files and doing what Lucifer referred to as ‘tedious nonsense’ he had been taking the odd nip from his flask during the day as usual but had only had four large whiskeys in the bar. Almost teetotal for Lucifer. When the time came to go home he had practically fallen off his bar stool, before turning and accusing a complete stranger of trying to push him over. She had grabbed his hand and dragged him across the floor towards the stairs before he had the chance to do any damage, his eyes flashed red briefly until he realised it was her doing the dragging. 

Once safely inside the penthouse she let go of him, he staggered a step or two away from her before hiccupping violently, with a loud whoosh his wings exploded from his back. “Bugger.”

Chloe started to slip his jacket from his shoulders but soon realised there was no way it would fit over his wings. She turned him around and inspected his back. The wings seemed to be literally growing out of the material. “How do they not tear your clothes?” She asked, incredulously.

“They’re suppp surp, surpernernal… its magic.” Exclaimed Lucifer.

“Well, can you please put them away again, Lucifer, so that we can get your clothes off.” 

“You want to get my clothes off. You want to see my thing, don’t you detective?” Lucifer snorted loudly and started giggling. He rolled his shoulders several times before looking at Chloe, a panicked expression on his face. “They won’t go back in. Why won’t they go back in? Bad wings, no biscuits for you.”

Chloe sighed in exasperation and guided Lucifer up the steps to the bedroom, placing him at the foot of the bed and assessing the situation. He would just have to sleep fully clothed for now, at least from the waist up. She quickly stripped his lower body, which elicited even more snorts and giggles from the swaying man. She tried really hard not to look at his wings too much, they were quite mesmerising and truly beautiful. All she wanted to do was touch them, stroke them, kiss them, have them wrap around her. She noticed Lucifer looking at her with what could only be called naked lust, well, half naked. He’s drunk, Decker, pull yourself together and don’t even think about taking advantage of him, she chided herself. He really was swaying alarmingly now, it would only take a light push for him to fall. She prodded him in the chest and he started his slow decent.

“No. No, no, no, no. I can’t. Not on my back, not with these bloody things. They’ll break.”

Chloe grabbed Lucifer’s jacket, managing to turn him sideways just before they both fell onto the bed. Chloe had thought a sober Lucifer could be annoying but a drunk devil took annoying behaviour to a whole new level, even if it was kind of endearing. She could live without the snorting but the giggling was cute. She wrapped her arms around him as best she could and kissed his cheek. 

“Thanks. What’s happening to me, Chloe?”

“I’m not sure but I’d imagine it has something to do with me. Sorry. You told me once that you can’t get drunk on normal amounts of alcohol but it would appear all bets are off when I’m around.” 

“Well that’s new. Okay, detective. Right, your fault. It’s all your fault…again.”

“It’s not like I’m doing it on purpose, Lucifer. I have no idea why I have this effect on you, why I make you vulnerable.”

“His fault,” Lucifer pointed upwards. “Dad and his little miracle, little trap more like. He just wants me back in Hell. Well I showed him, I beat all of them - the priest, the demons, you.”

“Me?” 

“I died for you. Died and went to Hell. Twice.” Lucifer shouted, holding up three fingers.

“What are you talking about, Lucifer? You didn’t die, you’re not dead.” Are you?

“Not this time, this time I had my feathery burdens. Need wings to be The King of Hell, demons can’t reach the throne, need to fly. Bloody things. Get me a knife woman and I’ll cut them off again.”

“Lucifer stop.” Chloe wrestled with him as he tried to roll off the bed. “Calm down.”

“Careful, detective my wings can be sharp, wouldn’t want you to slit your throat,” Lucifer folded them in as best he could but they wouldn’t co-operate. Exasperated, he gave up and let them find their own position. “None of this would have happened if you hadn’t made contact with that bloody priest in Rome.” He almost spat the words at her. 

Chloe was taken aback by the vehemence in his words. “He made contact with me remember and if we’re in the business of assigning blame then let’s not forget the part Eve played too.”

“Doesn’t matter now anyway. Never going back. Never being a monster. Never.” Lucifer flapped his wings once again trying to get comfortable, he settled for pain free, turning until he was face down on the bed. He was asleep in seconds. When he woke in the morning Chloe was gone. 

\--0--

“Good morning, detective.”

“I wasn’t sure you were going to make it in today, Lucifer. Not after last night.” Chloe carried on noisily shuffling the files on her desk without looking up.

Even Lucifer picked up on the frosty tone. “Ah, I see. Well, as it happens, detective, I have no memory of last night. I recall leaving the precinct then nothing until I woke up alone and half-dressed this morning.”

Chloe finally looked at him, checking his face for any sign of amusement, he didn’t lie but he wasn’t above mockery. Finding none, she motioned for him to sit down at her side. 

“Clearly you aren’t particularly happy with whatever happened. If I upset you, detective, I am truly sorry, if I…I didn’t hurt you did I?” Please not that.

“No, you didn’t hurt me Lucifer, not physically anyway.” Chloe was quick to reassure him.

“Good. Good. What did I do?”

“Not here, Lucifer. We’ll talk later, at home.”

At home. Lucifer relaxed into his chair, so whatever had occurred couldn’t have been as bad as he’d imagined, thank dad. The unremarkable day passed slowly, as it wore on they fell back into a comfortable rhythm and by the time the shift was over Chloe graced Lucifer with a smile. 

“Dan wants to take Trixie tonight so if it’s alright with you I could come back to the penthouse, we really do need to talk about last night.”

“Of course, detective. I have a couple of nice steaks in the fridge, far better for you than a stale sandwich from the vending machine.” 

Chloe started to protest but gave up, he knew her too well.

“Well, it would appear your proximity allowing drink to actually make me drunk was a one-time thing, detective,” Lucifer polished off his whisky and poured himself another large one. It tasted as good as it ever did but he felt nothing untoward from its consumption. Combined with the bottle of wine they had shared over dinner, if he was going to be effected it would surely have happened by now. “Are you ready to tell me what happened last night, Chloe?”

She sat back, sinking further into the sinfully comfortable sofa, before filling him in on the events of the previous evening.

Lucifer listened in silence. He didn’t think it was the right time to tell Chloe the truth about the professor and the cure for her poisoning. However, he did believe he owed her some sort of explanation and maybe an apology. Until he heard his own forgotten words spoken back to him he hadn’t realised how deep his hurt at her intended betrayal ran.

“You have to remember, Chloe, I’m not human. Angels don’t process emotions the way you do, if they have never left The Silver City they don’t even have emotions to speak of. They’re like blanks, just going through the motions, an appearance of living with no real substance,” Lucifer took another long pull on his drink before continuing. “It’s taken me eons to get to this stage and I still don’t really have the range of emotions you do. I still miss so many things, the subtle nuances you all take for granted. The little clues that tell you how another person is feeling, I just don’t get it. I don’t think that is ever going to change. This is me at the top of my game I’m afraid.

“I can love, I know that now. And hate when it’s necessary. It would also appear that I can hold a grudge, which is something I truly wasn’t expecting. I think my latest time back in Hell might have set my emotional journey back a bit. It’s going to take time, detective but I will get there, I promise.”

“But do you still blame me for almost betraying you, Lucifer? I don’t know what more I can do, I came to my senses before I did anything, I accepted you, your devil face, I realised I loved you, all of you.” Chloe felt the tears running down her face, she really had no defence, because she had set out to betray him, to send him back to Hell. Nothing she could do would change that. Nothing. 

“I’m tired, Chloe. Tired of fighting, tired of hating.” 

“Why do our lives have to be so damn complicated, Lucifer?”

“Well, I am the devil, so there’s that.”

“True,” Chloe moved closer to him and placed a tentative hand on his arm. “Maybe we should sleep on it.”

“Yes, why not. Although, when you say sleep, I hope what you really mean is shag until our minds go blank and we fall into a coma?”

“Obviously.” Chloe stood up, took his hand and led him to the bedroom.

\--0--

“So, Doctor, what do you think?” Lucifer sat back on the sofa after filling Linda in on the events of the previous two days. It was good to be back in the therapist’s office, it felt right to once again be baring his soul to her. He realised he had been far too hasty in dispensing with her valuable services. 

“Maybe, on some subconscious level you allowed yourself to be effected by the alcohol. Maybe you needed your walls taken down to allow you to explore your true feelings regarding Chloe’s intended betrayal.”

“You think I self-actualised myself inebriated.” If that were true, it would save him a fortune on drugs and whisky.

“I think it allowed you to bring all of your unresolved issues into the light, to clear the air, so to speak.” Linda uncrossed her legs and leant forward in her chair. “How are things between the two of you now?”

“Good. Very good. The sex is amazing, as you would know.” Lucifer gave Linda one of his best self-satisfied smiles.

“Apart from the amazing sex, Lucifer, how are things between you?”

“Like I said, Doctor, things are good. I like spending time with her, we have …fun.” As the word left his mouth Lucifer realised fun wasn’t a word he had ever used to describe any other relationship he had had since the dawn of time. He loved being with Chloe, not just for sex but because he wanted to be close to her, he needed her in his life. She made him happy and happy wasn’t a word associated with his life so far.

“I have to go, I need to speak to the detective about something. Thank you Doctor, another great session.” 

“Yep, bye.” Same old Lucifer, thought Linda as he slammed the door behind him. Thank goodness for that.

\--0--

“That child will be the death of me.” Lucifer placed his hand over his wildly beating heart.

Chloe smiled up at him “She can be pretty stealthy when she wants to be, I think Maze has been giving her lessons.”

“You know, this could easily be avoided if you moved in with me, your offspring could have an entire floor at Lux just for her own amusement, two, if she so wished.”

Chloe almost dropped her glass. Lucifer had really just suggested they move in together. She didn’t know what to say. It was obviously ridiculous, Lux was no place to raise a child but still, the fact that he even made the offer was astounding. 

“At least that way she wouldn’t be able to just sneak up on us like that.” Lucifer bent down to pick up the glass he had dropped when Trixie, who was supposed to be at her friend’s house, had suddenly appeared behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. Thankfully, the vessel had landed on Chloe’s thick rug and seemed to have survived the fall.

Trixie at least had the good grace to look contrite as she headed off to the kitchen to grab a cloth to mop up the spilled drink. “Sorry about that, I decided to come home early, it was pretty boring at Sam’s house.”

“Okay. I hope you didn’t tell him that.” Chloe took the glass from Lucifer inspecting it for cracks or chips, finding none she walked over and put it in the dishwasher.

“I did, actually. He was the one making it boring, I don’t think I’ll bother with him again, not really boyfriend material as Maze would say.” Trixie bent down to wipe the floor.

“BOYFRIEND.” Lucifer shouted at Chloe. “Did you hear that, boyfriend material, she’s only eleven bloody years old. I’ll kill him, if Dan doesn’t get to him first.”

“You’ll do no such thing and neither will Dan,” Chloe slammed the washer shut and beckoned Lucifer to her side. “Trust me, boyfriend doesn’t mean the same thing at eleven it does at say sixteen, we have a few years yet before we really need to worry. Okay?”

“If you’re sure, detective. I could just have a quiet word with the young man and let him know how we all feel about Trixie and dating, he could pass the word around at school.”

“Yes, you could but then Trixie would kill you for ruining her chances of having any type of social life for the next decade.”

“Very well, detective.” Lucifer decided to follow Chloe’s lead on this occasion. Trixie had been spending a lot of time with Maze, he suspected they had spent less time talking about relationships and more time practising battle techniques and knife throwing. Discretion really was the better part of valour. “I meant what I said about you and Trixie staying at Lux, even if it’s only some of the time. I have plenty of room and as much as I love spending time here, detective, your bed and shower weren’t made for someone my size.” Lucifer poured himself another glass of wine and headed back to the sofa.

Trixie ran into the kitchen grabbed her mother around the waist and pulled her into the far corner. “Please tell me you are going to say yes.” She was bouncing up and down and could barely get the words out, staying at Lux would make her the envy of everyone she knew. And her own floor. Two floors. At Lux! Had she died and gone to heaven? 

“No, I’m not going to tell you that, Trixie. I have to think about it.”

“Think about it, Mom, it’s Lux. And the two of you are always together anyway so what difference would it make except we would all have more room.” My own floor. MY OWN FLOOR.

“I’ll think about it, okay monkey.” 

“Okay.”

\--0--

“This is yet another reason why moving in here would be such an excellent idea, detective, I could never do this in your tiny home.” As Lucifer extended his wings the very tip of the right one caught the top of a lamp sending it crashing to the floor, where it shattered. “Bollocks. I thought I was far enough away from everything. Never mind, I didn’t like that thing anyway.”

“They really are beautiful, Lucifer,” looking at them now in all their glory Chloe just couldn’t understand how he could ever even think about cutting them off, how was he able to live without them. “Can I touch them?”

“Yes, of course.” 

“Do I need to be careful anywhere? I know you can’t lie on your back with them out but are there any other things you can’t do?” She really didn’t want to cause him any pain or discomfort.

“No. Just not the best idea to put my full bodyweight on them by laying face up.” 

“Okay.” Chloe couldn’t wait any longer, she had to touch them. She reached out and ran her hand gently down the top of his left wing towards the tip, using the merest hint of pressure. 

Lucifer closed his eyes and tried to keep his wings still, they were powerful things and he didn’t want to hurt her, or break anything else.

“Gentle touches or stronger ones, which do you like best?”

“I don’t know, detective. No one has ever touched them before, not like this.” 

Chloe pulled her hand away, unsure what to do next. 

“Its okay, Chloe, I want you to touch them. Please.”

She moved even closer to him and gently kissed his lips as she ran her hands softly down both of his wings. His reaction was instant and dramatic.

“Well, I guess these things are hot wired to my groin,” Lucifer shuddered and took a step back. “Thank dad that didn’t happen when Amenadiel used them to drag me to hell, then again, the sight of my erection might have caused him to drop me in a higher level and saved me years of torment.”

“We are going to have so much fun tonight, Lucifer.” Chloe pressed herself against him, running her fingers through his feathers, revelling in his soft moans and softer kisses. They made it to the bedroom with the penthouse furnishings still largely intact. Chloe slowly removed her clothes, unashamedly treating Lucifer to a striptease, hopefully, the first one he’d had since his return from Hell, if it wasn’t, then he was in trouble. She was so wrapped up in her performance she didn’t even notice he was still fully dressed until her last item of clothing hit the floor. Feeling more than a little exposed she reached for his jacket before remembering how problematic his wings were in this situation.

Sensing her dilemma, Lucifer rolled his shoulders and his wings disappeared. “Give me a minute and I promise I’ll get them back out again.” He removed his clothes a hell of a lot faster than she had hers. “Come here.” He opened his arms to her and she willingly stepped into his naked, warm embrace.

She felt the soft flutter of feathers on her bare back as he wrapped his huge wings around her, using them almost as if they were another set of limbs. It was the most erotic and comforting thing she had ever experienced. She could stay like this forever. 

Making love when one of the participants has a ten foot wing span proved to be a lot of things, awkward, messy, complicated but most of all fun. 

“Wait. No. Maybe if I do this…..okay… forget that.” Lucifer sighed in exasperation as Chloe dissolved into a fit of giggles yet again at his attempt to find a comfortable position. The obvious starting point of Chloe on the bottom and Lucifer on top had been a disaster as the extra weight of his enormous wings had almost crushed the detective. Although he hated to admit it, Lucifer was also starting to suspect his lack of control might be the biggest stumbling block. He was used to being in complete command of his body during sex, he had eons of experience after all. But this was different, this was almost like being a clumsy virgin once again. “Maybe the bed is part of the problem?” Lucifer mused. He slid gracelessly down the mattress taking the sheet with him as it had caught on some of his feathers, he tossed it aside and stood up, reaching down to pull Chloe into his arms. He backed them towards the open balcony doors. Out there he would have more room to manoeuvre.

“Lucifer. What are you doing, what is someone sees you?”

“This is L.A. I’m sure the sight of a couple having a shag with one of them wearing wings wouldn’t even make the top ten on the list of ‘freaky things I’ve seen in Los Angeles,’ detective.”

“True.” Chloe had to agree with him, she had seen a lot freakier things in this city, a man wearing wings could pass for normal here.

Lucifer lifted Chloe up, allowing her to wrap her slender legs around his waist, bringing their bodies into perfect alignment. In this position Chloe could caresses his wings to her heart’s content and it didn’t matter how unruly the feathery bastards became, out here they had more than enough room to flap about and do their own thing. “Lovely.”

\--0--

They flopped down on the bed together, a light sheen of sweat covering their bodies making them glisten in the moonlight. They had finally solved the ‘sex with wings’ problem with the loss of only a few minor feathers and a lot of dignity. At one point Lucifer thought he was about to take off with Chloe still in his arms and didn’t that open up a new avenue of sexual experiences, mile high club anyone?

“Wow. So that happened.” Exclaimed Chloe.

“Yes, if I’d known how amazing that was going to be I might have risked further annoying dad by getting my wings out more often on previous visits to earth.”

Okay, maybe not the perfect time for this but as Lucifer had bought the subject up, Chloe had questions she really wanted answered.

“So, how many times have you been here, Lucifer?” Chloe had seen the pictures Father Kinley had tried to use as evidence against him, but all they really proved was that Lucifer was on earth in that time, nothing more. It had been enough to pique her interest though.

“I’ve visited earth on a number of occasions throughout history. When something particularly interesting or exciting was taking place, or when I just needed a change of scene.”

Chloe propped herself up on her elbow to look at him. “I’m a detective, I need details.” 

“Very well.” Lucifer tried to think of an interesting story to tell the detective but given their recent exploits the one that kept popping into this head although highly appropriate could be a mood killer. He decided to risk it anyway.

“On one such visit to earth I found myself in England during the early years of World War Two, such an exciting time. The very real possibility of imminent death made people a lot more entertaining and the blackout hid a multitude of sins. I attended some quite extraordinary parties during that time,” Lucifer closed his eyes as the memories of that time threatened to overwhelm him. “Certain people noticed me, my connections and my apparent knack for languages and somehow I ended up becoming a member of the SOE, for all intents and purposes I was a spy.

“The training was interesting to say the least. I grew quite attached to some of my fellow operatives, particularly a young man named John. He was twenty six, a bit of a playboy before the war, so of course we hit it off immediately, kindred spirits. After a while we were assigned a mission behind enemy lines in France.” Lucifer paused, wondering how much more detail to give Chloe, she had said she wanted to know some of his history after all but maybe, he should be a little circumspect when it came to too much information. Then again, if he only shared happy memories she would never know the whole truth about the journey that had brought him to her. He decided to press on, with this story at least.

“Our small aircraft approached the drop site under cover of darkness. The mood aboard the plane was ridiculously jovial given the circumstances. We parachuted five seconds apart, dropping from the plane at quite low altitude to avoid detection. It was exhilarating, although, of course, my parachute was unnecessary I kept up the pretence of needing it.

“When we had all landed and hidden our chutes we realised John was missing. I volunteered to stay behind to search for him and the all-important radio strapped to his back. I eventually found him just before dawn. His parachute had failed to open properly. Ironically, the useless thing was spread out like wings on either side of his supine body. 

“If he had only called out, screamed, I could have saved him but he plummeted silently to earth, somehow containing his fear, no doubt unwilling to give away the rest of the group and the resistance fighters waiting to greet us below. He was a brave lad for sure. Unfortunately, the radio was damaged beyond repair. 

“It was getting lighter by the minute and I really should have simply removed his parachute and radio then left him in the undergrowth but I stayed to bury him properly. The fall had already done most of the work for me, so I simply wrapped him in the parachute silk and made the depression a little deeper and then heaped soil over him,” Lucifer looked directly at Chloe before continuing. “His face was completely untouched, it was as if sleep had taken him, not death.

“I took his ring as a keepsake, I think my original intention was to return it to his family when I was able but for some reason I simply couldn’t part with it.” Lucifer touched the onyx ring on his right hand. “I believe it has only left my finger once since that day.”

“Were you lovers?” Chloe asked softly without a hint of jealousy.

“No. Ours was not a romantic relationship, far from it, although, I would have been more than willing to oblige should he have shown any indication he wanted that. If I had to put a name to it I would say we were friends. I stayed with the group for a while, a deal is a deal after all but my heart was no longer in the fight. We blew up the odd bridge and ruined a couple of supply roads and generally caused a little mayhem, then I felt I had to return to Hell. I didn’t visit earth again until the mid-seventies. Now that was a fun time, apart from the bloody awful clothes.”

“I’m sorry about John.” Chloe kissed Lucifer’s forehead. She hadn’t expected the story to take such a dark turn but was grateful that he felt able to share it with her.

“Yes, so am I. No doubt he is currently bored in death wandering around The Silver City looking for a party to attend,” Lucifer smiled up at the ceiling. “Good luck with that, John. If he had gone the other way I could have helped him with that but unfortunately he’d done nothing worthy of damnation.”

Chloe got it. Got Lucifer. Got the irreverent, nonchalant way he often treated the victims they came across. Death didn’t matter. If you had lived a good life you went to Heaven, if you’d done something worthy of damnation you went to Hell. It was a simple fact to him, not a matter of faith. He was being pragmatic not disrespectful.

\--0--

“Lucifer. What is wrong with you this morning?” Chloe reached out to grab her partner’s chair to stop the irritating spinning. 

“Nothing. Why?” Lucifer continued rubbing his back on the chair, which was what had caused the swinging in the first place, so that as soon as Chloe took her hand away he twisted from her to face the wall.

“You seem to be even more distracted than usual and why the hell can’t you just sit still.”

“Sorry,” Lucifer lent forward to whisper in her ear. “My wings are itchy.”

“Well can’t you scratch them or something?”

“Not without getting the damn things out and that hardly seems appropriate here does it?”

“NO.” Chloe thought about the storage room but even if it had the length to accommodate his wings it certainly didn’t have the breadth.

“You’ll just have to try to ignore it, you could help me with some of this paperwork to take your mind off the itching.” Chloe slid a stack of files towards him.

Lucifer sighed deeply, “It’s not that bad.” He emptied the contents of his flask into his coffee mug and started drinking. Whisky was a far better distraction than boring paperwork. 

“Oh, this might be an interesting case,” Chloe took down the details and handed them to Lucifer. She stood up. “Shall we?”

“We shall. After you, detective.” 

Half way to the crime scene Chloe pulled the car over to the side of the road. She looked across at Lucifer, his eyes were shut tight and he was rubbing his back so hard on the seat behind him she thought he must be drawing blood. “Get out.”

Lucifer’s eyes snapped open. “Are we there already?”

“No, but I can’t stand your fidgeting anymore.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll try to keep still and you can’t just dump me here.” Lucifer looked out of the window. “Where are we anyway?”

“Somewhere quiet. Come on.” Chloe got out of the car and motioned for Lucifer to join her. They walked a short distance up a hill and into a small stand of trees. Chloe took a good look around. “Okay, get them out.”

Lucifer rolled his shoulders and did just that. Chloe moved round to stand behind him. “Okay, where do you need me to scratch?”

“Left side towards the top, it’s driving me crazy.”

Chloe ran her hands down his feathers from the top of his wing to the bottom. Lucifer moaned loudly and started to sway. “If this is just a ploy to get me involved in some weird al-fresco wing sex scenario I am going to kill you.” Exclaimed Chloe.

“No, no. I promise it isn’t detective, do that again please, it really helped.” 

As she ran her hands down his wing a second time her fingers caught on something hard twisted around one of the really big feathers mid-way to the bottom. She moved in to take a closer look, it was tan coloured, long and thin and….she recognised it. She disentangled the object then slipped it into her pocket before gently patting his wing back into shape. “There, is that better?”

Lucifer flapped a couple of times, put them away and then got them back out again. “Yes, much. Thank you. What was it?” Lucifer folded his wings away for a final time as they made their way back to the car. “Detective?”

“A hairband.” Mumbled Chloe.

“What?”

“I said, it was a hairband, one of mine.” 

“Oh. Okay.”

They walked back to the car in silence, neither one of them able to look at the other for fear of laughing and then made their way on to the crime scene.

Chloe parked the car outside the crumbling building and she and Lucifer got out. She checked the surrounding area, no residential properties, mostly empty and abandoned commercial ones. No cameras on the outside of any of the buildings including the crime scene. Whoever had dumped the body had chosen well. 

The young woman lay face down on the abandoned warehouse floor, her naked body marred by scarlet lash marks criss-crossing her back and legs. Her blond hair was dirty and tangled and her spine poked obscenely through the almost translucent skin on her back. 

“What have you got so far, Ella?”

“Body dump. Unknown female. I’d say approximately thirty years old. Cause of death is undetermined at the moment, although, being whipped to that extent would have been a big contributing factor, she’s also severely malnourished from the looks of her, signs of possible sexual assault too. I’ll know more when they get her back to the morgue. I estimate time of death to be twelve to fifteen hours ago.”

“Who found the body?”

“Kid over there,” Ella nodded towards the back of the room, “Came in here to skate. He’s pretty shaken up.”

“Okay, I’ll go have a word with him.” 

The boy provided no real information, he had noticed the body as soon as he’d entered the building, then run back outside to call 911. The closest he’d gotten to the corpse was fifty feet and according to him there had been no one else around. They had another quick scan of the area and then left forensics to do their thing.

“Do we have an I.D on yesterday’s victim yet, Ella?” Enquired Chloe, as she and Lucifer entered the other woman’s lab the day after the body dump discovery.

“Hi guys.” Ella picked up her report. “Not yet, still running her details through missing persons. I would say the victim had been subjected to a long period of sustained torture. Both her arms were broken and both shoulders dislocated, but this is the weird part, the four injuries seem to have occurred approximately twelve hours apart, hence the long torture thing. 

“We found three different sets of prints on the door, one was the kid who found her, the other two are unidentified and neither of them are in the data base. I also managed to get a semen sample but the DNA came back inconclusive. There were no stomach contents, so whoever had her obviously hadn’t been feeding her, which would explain her emaciated appearance.”

Chloe nodded along to the information, taking it all in. “Most murderers work alone, so I’m not sure if the two sets of prints are significant or not, one or both could be from anyone else who thought the warehouse was a good place to skate, or whatever. Good work, Ella.” Chloe took a copy of the report and headed back to her desk with Lucifer. She ran the details of the case through the computer.

“Lucifer, look at this. Another body dump, a year ago with the exact same MO as our woman in the warehouse,” Chloe bought up the file pictures, the woman was thirty four, fair haired and attractive, just like the most recent victim. “I think we are dealing with a serial killer.” 

Chloe continued working through old case files throughout the afternoon, Lucifer kept her supplied with coffee and occasionally picked up some paperwork. This sort of stuff really wasn’t his strong point, he was a much more hands on throats type of investigator. He was just thinking about suggesting they call it a night when Chloe grabbed his arm.

“I think we can add this one. Way too many similarities to be coincidence.” Chloe put the latest file op top of the others. “That makes three so far.”

“Excellent work, detective!”

“I need to find a connection between them, work out how he chooses his victims” Chloe pulled the files closer and opened the top one.

“And I’m sure you will. Tomorrow.” Lucifer closed the file and took Chloe’s hand. “It’s late and Trixie will be almost ready to start throwing knives at her sitter, Mrs Brines by now. The files will still be here in the morning.”

Chloe picked up her purse and walked with Lucifer to the underground parking lot. “Do you have to go to Lux tonight, or.”

“Or.” Replied Lucifer as he climbed in her car.

\--0--

“All three women were known to frequent the bars along this strip in south L.A. Not the sort of place you want to find yourself after dark, or in daylight come to think of it.”

“Hookers?” Asked Dan. 

“No indication of that, no. We’ve identified all of them now. Victim number one was a single mother, she worked as a waitress in a coffee shop, didn’t appear to have a boyfriend at the time of her murder. Victim two was homeless, I think she bar hopped as a way of keeping warm and dry, a number of the bar staff knew her and turned a blind eye to her dozing off on one of the tables at the back. Our victim, number three, was single, no children worked as a PA for a local car sales firm, regular boyfriend has been ruled out as he has a cast iron alibi. He was in New York at the time of her abduction.

“He said they both liked to go to the seedier parts of town as it, in his words ‘turned them both on’. So creepy. It all seems so random, I just can’t find any pattern other than he chooses his victims because he’s seen them in one of these bars. That’s the only connection.

“Well and their appearance, detective.” Lucifer pointed to the file pictures. 

“Yes and that, they do all seem vaguely similar in appearance and age. We know he moves the bodies after he’s killed. He has to have a safe place to keep them before that, somewhere remote, or sound proofed maybe. He inflicts a lot of pain, these girls are not going to be quiet and none of the bodies show any indications of having been gagged. So maybe he gets off on their screams.” 

Ella picked up her tablet and put some pictures up on the screen in front of them. “Guys, I’ve been re-examining the photos of the bodies and I think I’ve found something. The last victim had an odd mark on her wrist, I thought at first it was a contusion but when I blew up the image I got this.” Ella pointed to a purple smudge on the screen.

“I think it’s an imprint from one of those rubber bands you can buy, you know for charities or with ads on. I think this one had been turned inside out and when I ran it through pattern recognition soft wear I got this,” Ella changed the picture again to show the faint outline of words. “I managed to trace the bar that sells them.” 

“Wow. Great work, Ella.”

“I’ll drive, detective.”

They pulled up outside of the bar. “What a charming place,” Lucifer got out and followed Chloe to the door. “I must get one of those for Lux.” He pointed at the neon sign flashing the words ‘CHEEP BEER + CHEEP FOOD’. 

“Yes, well, you might need to rename the place too,” Chloe pointed at the larger sign over the door. ‘THE BIRDY CLUB’

“Ah, yes. Well then, maybe not.”

Chloe approached the girl behind the bar and swiped through the pictures of the victims. Do you recognise any of these women?”

The girl shook her head before really looking at the phone. 

“Please, it’s very important, can you take another look?” Implored Chloe.

“Yeah, that one, she’s been around a few times. I haven’t seen her here for a couple of weeks though. To be honest, they all look a bit familiar but I’m pretty sure about that one.” 

“Was she alone the last time you saw her?”

“I think she came in alone, yeah. There was a guy tried to pick her up but I guess he wasn’t her type because she blew him off pretty quick.”

“Can you describe him?”

“Ordinary looking, around forty, quite small. They pretty much all look the same to me, after a while the faces all blur into one. He seemed a bit creepy, you know. Not wanting to accept no means no. He tried to give her a weird drink, I can’t remember what it was but I do know I had to blow the dust off the bottle before pouring it. 

“He hung about at the end of the bar for a while, I didn’t see him leave but I noticed he was gone after about an hour, she left a bit after that. I don’t think he’s been in here since, then again look around, he could be any of them.” The woman waved her hand at the men dotted around the bar.

“Thank you. You appear to have noticed quite a bit.” Chloe nodded at the other woman.

The bartender bent forward and in a low voice said, “well, this isn’t really the sort of place where it pays to look as if you’re paying attention, if you get my drift.”

“Okay. If you think of anything else please ring me.” Chloe handed the woman one of her cards. She spoke to the customers but apparently they were all suffering from the same selective amnesia as the bar staff. 

“So, do you think this is one of his prime hunting spots, detective?” Lucifer held the door open for her as they left the bar.

“I think we need to see if we can draw him out, we can place at least one of the victims at the club, possibly all of them drank here at some point, might be worth running a sting see what happens. I’ll see what we can set up for tomorrow night.” Chloe checked her watch before turning to Lucifer and suggesting they call it a day. “Trixie won’t be home for a couple of hours, she’s gone to her friend’s house.”

“Not that Sam again detective?” 

“No, she does have other friends, Lucifer, girlfriends. Anyway, I thought maybe we could go back to your place and…”

“An excellent idea detective.”

Lucifer let her push him backwards onto the bed where he bounced a couple of times before Chloe threw herself on top of him, stilling his movements. She started to slowly kiss her way down his face and throat.  
Tipping his head back to give better access, he started to eagerly undo his shirt. He smiled up at her, his eyes soft and said, “Maze.”  
Chloe froze, then tilted her head to the side, “Really?” She slapped his chest and started to get up.  
“No, no. Maze.” He pointed down the steps towards the main room.  
“Don’t let me stop you, carry on,” Maze waved her hand at them and got comfortable on the sofa. “Have you got any popcorn?”  
“What are you doing here, Maze?” Lucifer and Chloe spoke in unison.  
“Linda found this after you guys left the other night,” Maze dropped a small earring onto the coffee table in front of her. “I was coming over for a drink anyway so, you’re welcome.”  
Chloe got up and walked over to the table where she picked up the earring. She hadn’t even realised it was missing, she slipped it into her purse. “Thanks.”  
“So, like I said, feel free to carry on. I don’t mind.” Maze got up and headed to the bar to get some liquid refreshment, maybe Lucifer had some nuts or olives, a poor substitute for popcorn but they would do in a pinch.  
“Well we most certainly DO mind. Don’t we Lucifer?”  
Apparently, Lucifer didn’t mind as much as she did, if his ‘cat that got the cream’ grin was anything to go by. Chloe looked at him in exasperation and rolled her eyes. He was still stretched out on the bed and seemed in no great hurry to move anytime soon. Chloe beckoned him with her crooked finger. Somewhat reluctantly her got up and came to stand by her side.  
“It’s not like I haven’t seen it before is it Decker? Well almost anyway.”  
“What?”  
Maze put her hands on her head and made a sex face. “That was some dream Decker.”  
Chloe’s face flamed red.  
Lucifer looked from one woman to the other, waiting for more details, lots more details. “Would one of you please tell me about this dream and what on earth are you trying to mime Maze?”  
“No idea, you’ll have to ask her.” Maze pointed at Chloe.  
“Detective?”  
“No. Not going to happen and I am telling both of you now I do not consider sex to be a spectator sport, okay?”  
“Threesome?” Maze asked and Lucifer actually had the nerve to look slightly hopeful.  
“Okay, that’s it. Get out both of you, go on.” Chloe started herding them backwards across the room.  
“Um, wait, detective.” Lucifer held his hands up in front of her in a vain attempt to stop her forward progress.  
“Out!”  
“I live here.” Protested Lucifer.  
“What?” Chloe finally stopped trying to shoo them away and took a look around. Damn, of course they were in the penthouse.  
“Okay, then you stay and I’ll go.” She grabbed her purse and stalked towards the elevator.  
As soon as the doors slid shut Maze poured out two glasses of whisky, she handed one to Lucifer. “Well what do you think?” Maze nodded her head towards the bedroom. “A quick one for old time’s sake.” She teased, knowing full well he would decline the offer.  
“What do I think? I think locks are an amazing invention and I really need to order some now.” Lucifer drained his glass and took out his cell phone.

\--0--

Chloe took the clothes into the ladies room and pulled the dress over her head, somehow managing to drag it down over her body. She twisted from side to side trying to make it go further but it stopped just below her panties. She stepped out into the corridor where Lucifer and Dan were waiting for her.

“Okay, guess we’re all set.” Dan’s eyebrows had joined his hairline and he was working really hard trying and failing to suppress a smirk that was slowly taking over his face.

Lucifer lent in towards Chloe and whispered in her ear, “How much for the whole weekend?”

Chloe smacked him hard in the chest and led the two men out of the precinct and into the surveillance van. On the drive to the bar Chloe fitted her wire and slipped the ridiculously high heeled shoes on. “I’m going to break something,” she muttered. “An ankle, their jaws.” 

Dan parked the van in the shadows just around the corner from the bar and Chloe got out. 

The sting was a bust, several men had approached Chloe but each one had taken no for an answer and drifted off when she gave them the cold shoulder. None of them had brought a drink over with them. After three hours they decided to give up and try again the next day.

“You know, if you wanted to wear that outfit home I’d have no objections, detective.” Lucifer told her as she climbed into the back of the van.

“No. I’ll bet you wouldn’t.” Replied Chloe, already starting to take it off using her jacket as a screen. 

\--0--

Lucifer took the steps up to Chloe’s place two at a time, when he got to the top he ran straight into Ella, she was bending down looking at something on the ground. “Oops, sorry Ms Lopez. Wait. What are you doing here?” Why do you have evidence gloves on and why are there uniformed offices currently putting ‘POLICE DO NOT CROSS’ tape everywhere? Was Ella playing a prank? 

“Hey, Lucifer. I ….you’d better come inside and sit down.” 

“I don’t want to go inside, nor do I need to sit down, what I need is for you to tell me what is going on.” 

“Chloe’s gone.”

“Gone?” okay what have I done now? Lucifer racked his brain trying to think if he’d upset her in some way but came up empty.

“Now don’t panic big guy but it looks like she might have been abducted.”

“Tell me everything you know. NOW.”

Ella took a step back, then another, she knew why Lucifer was angry but man was he scary at the moment. “Whoever did this must have been watching Chloe back at the bar, they obviously followed her here with the intention of abducting her.”

“We all left the bar hours ago and Chloe didn’t come home from there,” Lucifer informed Ella. “She dropped me at the penthouse first before heading back here.”

“How long was she with you?”

“Just over an hour, she didn’t stay long as she wanted to get back to Trixie and Dan because it’s Tuesday.”

“Tuesday?” Ella raised her eyebrows at Lucifer.

“They always have tacos together on Tuesdays, if Dan’s available. I had something I needed to sort out at Lux then I headed over here and found all this happening.” 

Lucifer looked towards the open door. “Are Dan and Trixie okay?” 

“Yeah, they’re fine, Lucifer, they’re upstairs. Dan’s trying to keep Trixie out of the way. If Chloe was with you it can’t have been all that long ago she was taken, I’ve been working on the assumption she came straight here from the sting.”

“No. It’s not even been an hour since I saw her.” How could all this have happened in so short a time?

“Dan turned up with Trixie a short while ago, he called it in as soon as he realised what must have happened. Chloe’s purse and phone were over there by the door, I’ve had a quick look around and there are signs of a struggle, footprints in the mud here and some crushed flowers. I found something else over there.” Ella pointed to an area near the door marked with an evidence flag. 

“Something else?” Lucifer looked at her waiting for her to continue.

“Yeah. Um…” Ella trailed off.

“What did you find?”

“A tooth.” Ella couldn’t bring herself to hold up the bag containing the bloody evidence.

Lucifer wanted, no, he needed to punch something, anything. He turned away from Ella as he felt his eyes beginning to flame. He fought to bring himself back under control, worried that he was seconds away from going full devil. Now was so not the time or place for that, he needed Ella’s full attention on finding Chloe, not distracted by an existential crisis.

“Can I go in and speak to Daniel?” Lucifer didn’t want to move or touch anything vital to the investigation.

“Sure, just don’t move her things.” Ella pointed to Chloe’s purse and phone.

Lucifer went inside and headed up to the bedroom. He knocked on the half closed door.

“Hey man. Come in.” Dan waved him over. Trixie was cuddled into his side crying softly. “We stopped to pick up some cake for dessert, I actually wasted twenty minutes queuing if I’d been here sooner maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”

“And maybe if I had come with her instead of staying at LUX to speak to Luke this wouldn’t have happened. The important thing is it has happened. Now what are we going to do about it?”

“We have to find her man.”

“Agreed.” Lucifer took out his phone and started sending messages.

Maze arrived within minutes, screeching to a halt half on and half off the sidewalk outside, she got out the car and walked away without bothering to close the door. “What do you need from me, Lucifer?” 

“Dan and I are going to need to focus our full attention on getting Chloe back, Maze. Can you move back in to look after Trixie?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you.” Lucifer took Maze by the arm and led her into Trixie’s empty bedroom. 

“If… when, we find Chloe, if she’s hurt or worse, I might need you to stop me from going too far, you and Amenadiel are the only ones capable of that.”

“Under those circumstances why would you want me to stop you?” Maze didn’t understand what Lucifer was asking her to do.

Lucifer gave it further thought. “True. Forget I said anything.” 

\--0--

“Guys, look at this.” Ella burst out of her lab and ran across the room towards Lucifer and Dan. “The tooth, the blood on it is group O and Chloe is A, so the tooth is most likely to be from the bastard who took her. Way to go Decker.”

Lucifer wasn’t sure if it was quite the good news Ella seemed to think it was. If Chloe had indeed managed to hit her abductor hard enough to dislodge a tooth, he didn’t want to think about how he would seek retribution. He didn’t want to but now he could think of little else. 

\--0--

Chloe shook her head trying to remember what had happened, she looked around but her eyes refused to focus properly. She could hear noises coming from outside the room she was in, someone was cursing up a storm. She tried to stand but realised she had been shackled to the wall with heavy chains. She was also naked. Shit! The door opened and she could just make out the outline of a man standing silhouetted against the light spilling in from outside.

“You need to let me go, I’m a cop. You have no idea how much trouble you’re in right now. He will be coming for me.”

The door closed again and she was left alone with her fears.

\--0--

“He’s had her for three days, who knows what she’s been going through, we have to find her.” Lucifer thumped the table to emphasise his words, sending Ella’s coffee mug crashing to the floor.

“We will, Lucifer I promise.” Ella gave his arm a reassuring squeeze.

“It seems likely he was aware of who Chloe was and having seen her in the bar, maybe he was mad enough to risk abducting a cop,” Dan bent down to pick up the mug and handed it to Ella. “Maybe he followed the van to the precinct, then hung around and got lucky when he saw you guys leaving.”

Ella put the mug down well away from Lucifer. “Well, if you really wanted to it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out where Chloe lived, he could have just gone right to her place and waited for her.” 

“She did hand out quite a few cards to people in the bar when we went there.” Lucifer studied the map in front of him again, looking at the locations of the body dumps, seeking a pattern but they seemed random, just chosen because they were empty buildings. It was something of a miracle they had been discovered at all. Then again, who knew if there were further bodies still waiting to be discovered? 

“Let’s go over everything again, just in case we missed something.” Dan started sorting through the paperwork in front of him.

“We might be missing something right here.” Lucifer swept his hand over the table before leaving the room and heading to Chloe’s desk. He came back carrying a folder, he took out a picture and put it down in front of them. “Chloe had a theory that the seemingly unrelated murder of this woman five years ago was part of this case. She thought perhaps the woman had managed to escape her captor for a while or had died sooner than he expected. She matches the physical appearance of the other victims but she had only been missing a few hours, she was naked when found and did have a broken wrist. 

“If I remember correctly she had crème de menthe in her stomach contents. I would say that qualifies as a weird drink. The bartender at The Birdy Club mentioned someone had tried to give the victim a weird drink that she recalled having to remove dust from before pouring it out. I know we have a bottle of the foul stuff at Lux and if my bar staff were not as attentive as they are, it too would no doubt be covered with dust.”

Dan and Ella studied the picture in front of them.

Lucifer spread the rest of the file out on the briefing room table. The detective would be proud of him, he did pay attention when she prattled on about something, sometimes at least. “Give me the map. Look, if we add this one to the other three and draw a line between them they intersect…here.”

Dan pulled the map across the table to inspect it closer. “An old industrial area, lots of empty buildings, you could be on to something,” Dan slapped Lucifer on the back. “Lucifer and I will check it out. Ella, contact the investigating officer on that original case, find out if they have any more info or hunches, anything that might help us identify the perp.”

By the time they had arrived at the third abandoned building Lucifer’s patience was exhausted. He was out of the car before it had even come to a complete stop. Dan slammed his door shut realising the other man was nowhere to be seen. “Dammit Lucifer.” He ran towards the building, his hand hovering over his holster. The front door was swinging loose on its broken hinges it looked like someone had driven a tank into it. The building was dark, the only light making its way inside had to sneak in through the odd break in the filthy windows and the air smelt musty, it had obviously been empty for quite some time, rubbish littered the floor and dust motes danced in the shadows. Dan headed towards the back of the building, un-holstering his gun. 

Lucifer found her in the corner of the room, chained to the wall, naked, bloodied, bruised and barely conscious. “Detective?” He knelt at her side, gently sweeping the dirty, matted hair from her face. “Chloe.”

The sound of footstep coming closer forced Lucifer to leave her side.

“LUCIFER?” 

“In here, Daniel. I’ve found her, she needs medical attention. The kidnapper might still around so stay alert.” 

Dan burst into the room still barking instructions into his radio and ran to Chloe’s side. He took in the heavy chains holding Chloe to the wall. “I have bolt cutters in my trunk.” He started to rise but Lucifer pulled him back down.

“No need for cutters, just hold her still for me.” Lucifer tore the chains from the wall then very carefully broke the thick metal cuffs around her wrists. Blood oozed from the deep rings cut into her flesh, she had obviously pulled furiously trying to escape the bonds. He took off his jacket and slipped it onto Chloe. A moan of pain escaped her lips and Lucifer felt himself beginning to change.

Dan looked at the destroyed metal, then at Lucifer whose eyes were suddenly glowing red. He fell backwards onto the floor. “What the hell man. Your eyes!” 

A loud bang coming from outside the room had Lucifer on his feet again. “Hold her.” Lucifer handed Dan his precious cargo before striding from the room to find the man who had dared to do this to her.

Dan helped Chloe to her feet, then half dragged, half carried her across the room. The perp was still around somewhere and he needed to get her to safety. As they entered the corridor beyond, Dan saw Lucifer holding a man above his head, he had the guy by the throat and seemed intent on squeezing the life from him. Dan didn’t feel inclined to stop him. It was what the bastard deserved.  
Lucifer’s eyes seemed normal and Dan started to doubt his own eyesight, maybe it had been a trick of the light. 

Chloe stirred in his arms, her worst fears were realised when she caught sight of Lucifer throttling her kidnapper. “Lucifer, what are you doing?”

“He needs to be punished for what he did to you.” Lucifer growled the words. 

“Lucifer, stop. Please. You don’t need to do this, he will be punished, I promise. This isn’t you anymore. Lucifer.” Chloe reached out and gently touched his arm, she knew she didn’t have the strength to physically stop him, she was close to passing out again but she had to try. If he killed him he would never forgive himself, it would destroy him. And them. “Lucifer. Lucifer, please. Stop, for me. For us.”

“As you wish, detective.” Lucifer released the man, who crumpled to the floor in a heap gasping for breath.

“Thank you.” Chloe reached up to touch his cheek as she finally lost her battle with unconsciousness. Just before she passed out Lucifer’s eyes once again turned blood red.

Dan watched as Lucifer carried Chloe to the waiting ambulance. Unable to process what he had just witnessed. Chloe hadn’t seemed the least bit surprised to see her partner with eyes like fire or to see how fucking strong he was. He needed to talk to them both, soon. Before he went crazy. 

\--0--

Ella ran through the doors to the emergency room and straight into Lucifer’s arms. “How is she?” 

“I don’t know yet, they took her through there and wouldn’t allow me to follow.” Lucifer indicated a set of double doors to his left.

“Okay, well I’m sure someone will be out soon.” Ella pulled her small silver cross from the inside of her T-shirt and began to pray.

Dan arrived a couple of minutes later, he hugged the wall furthest from Lucifer as he circled around towards Ella. She clutched at his arm and pulled him over to a row of plastic chairs attached to the wall and made him sit down. “We’re waiting for news. I’m sure she’s going to be fine, Chloe’s strong. Really strong, she’s going to be fine.”

Lucifer felt Dan’s eyes boring into him, he knew they would have to talk soon but he just couldn’t face it at the moment. He decided to act as if he hadn’t just exposed his true nature to the other man. He crossed the room and sat down next to Ella. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Dan’s hand move to rest on his holster. Not now Daniel, not here.

After what seemed an eternity, the doors opened and a doctor approached the seated group. 

“How is she?” Ella got the question out a split second before either of the men.

“Her right arm is broken and the shoulder is dislocated, she has a number of nasty cuts and contusions, she’s also severely dehydrated and weak from lack of sleep, it seems her captor wouldn’t allow her to rest. She also has a couple of deep welts on her back caused by a whip. She’s conscious now and doesn’t appear to have suffered any head injuries, or sexual assault. So there’s some good news at least.” 

“I should have killed him.” Lucifer muttered to himself, maybe he still could, they were probably holding the man at the precinct. He couldn’t leave Chloe yet, so that would have to wait.

“Can we see her, Doc?” Asked Dan.

“One of you can, yes.”

Lucifer looked at Dan.

“You go in, Lucifer, she’ll want to see you. I’ll arrange for someone to come down and take her statement.” 

“Thank you, Daniel. I’ll let her know you’re both here.”

The room was stark and painted a shade of green that could bring on a bilious attack. Chloe lay on the bed, surrounded by wires, her right arm sported a cast and a sling, her left wrist was already starting to bruise where a line had been inserted into a vein. Dark shadows under her eyes, bruises and a split on her top lip tried but failed to diminish her beauty. 

“Hello, detective. Laying down on the job that really won’t do at all.”

“Ass.” Chloe lifted her good hand an inch or two off the bed.

Lucifer pulled a chair over, sat down and very gently took her hand in his, turning it over to plant a soft kiss on her palm.

“Is he in custody?”

“You mean did I pay a flying visit to the precinct while the doctors were tending to you? No. I didn’t but the day isn’t over yet.” Replied Lucifer.

“Promise me you won’t do anything to him. The law will take care of him, he will get what he deserves. Promise me, Lucifer.”

“As you wish, I promise he will get what he deserves, detective.”

“No. You know what I meant, damn it Lucifer. Stop trying to twist my words. Promise me you won’t harm him in any way.”

“I promise I won’t harm him as long as he remains on the earthly plane.” 

“Good enough.” The bastard deserved a personal visit or two from The Devil when he finally made it to Hell. She let her head fall back onto the pillow and closed her eyes.

“I should go and let you get some sleep. Dan and Ella are outside, I’ll let them know you are looking half way human. Daniel very kindly let me be the one to come in and see you.”

“Okay. Will you let Trixie know I’m fine?”

“I’ll ask Dan to do that. You know I can’t lie, detective and you are far from fine so…”

“Okay. I just don’t want her to worry.”

Lucifer stood and bent down to kiss Chloe on the cheek. “Get some rest, I’ll be back later.”

\--0--

Trixie hesitated with her hand resting on the door to Chloe’s hospital room. 

Dan placed his hand on her shoulder, “Go on in, monkey, it’ll make her feel better to see you.”

Trixie turned to look at Lucifer seeking further reassurance.

“She has some tubes and wires and her arm is in a cast. Her face looks battered for want of a better word, but she is going to be okay, I promise. The man who did this will never hurt her or anyone again.”

Satisfied, Trixie opened the door and went in.

\--0--

Lucifer helped Chloe out of the corvette, she was still a little shaky on her feet after two days in hospital and she leant heavily on her partner as he guided her across the parking structure, weaving in and out of cars towards the elevator entrance. Once inside, he scooped her up into his arms.

“Lucifer, put me down. I can stand.” Protested Chloe.

“I know you can but you don’t need to with me here.” He graced her with a blinding smile and tightened his grip on her waist. When the doors opened onto the penthouse they were kissing passionately. He carried her across the room and up the steps before setting her very gently down on the bed. “I’ll just go back down and get your bags out of the car.” 

“Bags? I’m only staying here a couple of days, Lucifer.” She needed help for a while but she also needed to get back to normal as soon as possible, she was also loath to leave Trixie with Maze for too long. It had been good of the demon to offer to stay a little longer, as Dan would appear to have dropped off the face of the earth but still, it was Maze and anything could happen. 

“I know but I made the mistake of allowing Trixie and Maze to pack a few things for you. I suggest you open the bags with extreme caution, who knows what they contain. I won’t be a minute and then we can see about getting you washed and into some clean clothes.”

“Okay. If any of the bags are ticking leave them in the car.” Chloe shouted as Lucifer entered the elevator. He gave her a thumbs up as the doors slid closed.

“If you’ll just let me do that for you, detective, things would go a lot faster.”

“I can do it, I’m not completely helpless,” Chloe struggled on before realizing she was trying to fit her head through the sleeve of her top. “Okay, a little help here please” Not the sort of ‘help’ you gave me in the shower, the water was stone cold by the time you decided I was clean.

Lucifer stepped in and finished dressing her. “Really, that top with those trousers?”

“Shut up Lucifer.” The clothes might not match but they were loose fitting and comfortable.

“Well, all I can say is it’s a good job we are not eating out this evening.” 

“So, if we were eating out you wouldn’t want to be seen in public with me?” Quizzed Chloe.

Lucifer opened his mouth then snapped it shut again. The voice in his head was screaming ‘it’s a trap’ and for once in his life he actually listened to it. “Of course I would, darling. I’m proud to be seen in public with you no matter what you wear.” 

“Okay.” Chloe sat down on the sofa and patted the space next to her.

Lucifer settled down at her side. Maybe that little voice was worth listening to after all. “What would you like to eat? Anything you want I can have here in thirty minutes.”

“I’m not really all that hungry, maybe a sandwich?”

“Well, I can’t promise it will be of the same standard as the ones from that dreadful machine in work but I think I should be able to put something between two pieces of bread.” 

Chloe finished her grilled cheese sandwich and handed Lucifer her empty plate. “Thank you, that was perfect.” She said around a yawn. 

“Time for sleepy detectives to have a nap.” Lucifer set the dirty plate down on the coffee table and once again scooped Chloe up into his arms. This time she didn’t even bother to protest. He carried her to the bedroom and helped her pull the sheet up. Outside the light was just starting to fade and the noise from the street below drifted up on the breeze, the queue to get into Lux stretched around the corner and ended directly beneath the balcony, sounded like a good sized crowd, thought Lucifer. Under different circumstance he would most likely have popped down to play the piano and enjoy a few drinks. Instead, he lay down beside the detective and wrapped her in his arms, holding her until she fell asleep. 

\--0--

“We need to talk, man.” Dan exited the elevator and made his way to the middle of the room.

“Yes, we do. Please, come in.” Lucifer looked over his shoulder towards the bedroom before moving to stand by the bar.

“What I saw back there, you with those eyes, the way you tossed that guy around like he was nothing, what the hell was all that?”

“I’m The Devil.”

“So you keep saying but what the hell do you mean by that?”

“I mean, I’m. The. Devil.” Lucifer could see this was going to be a long conversation, he poured himself a large whisky. 

“So you’re telling me that you’re the devil, as in ‘The Devil’ the actual devil?” Dan shook his head violently, “No, no, no, nope.” He sat down on the arm of the chair and stared across the room at the other man.

“Well, I really haven’t made any secret of that fact have I, Daniel?” Lucifer stayed behind the counter, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible, Dan was armed after all and Chloe was asleep on the bed a few feet away. Death by douche was not the way he wanted to go. Okay, he didn’t need his inner voice to know that hadn’t come out the way he wanted it.

“Can I have one of those?” Dan pointed to Lucifer’s glass.

“Of course.” Have two. Please. Lucifer poured another large glass of scotch and placed it at the end of the bar.

Dan stood up and approached the drink with the caution he usually reserved for surprise packages. Lucifer moved away from the other side of the counter and went to sit down on the sofa. Another time he might have found their little dance amusing but not tonight. His future here on earth depended on the other man’s reactions. There was too much riding on this conversation for flippancy. Much to Lucifer’s surprise, Dan came and sat next to him.

“Does this mean that Amenadiel really is an angel?”

“Yes.”

“And Maze really is a demon?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that explains a lot.” Dan emptied his glass in two huge swallows. “Can I?” He asked pointing at the whisky on the bar.

“Yes. Bring the bottle.” 

Chloe woke to an uncomfortable feeling from her too full bladder, she tried to turn over but her shoulder hurt and her whole body had stiffened up during her nap. “Lucifer?” 

She was taken aback to hear Dan’s voice answering her. “He just popped downstairs to get something.” 

“Oh. What are you doing here, Dan? I tried reaching you a couple of times but your phone was turned off.” 

“Yeah, sorry about that, Chloe. I had a few things I needed to work through.”

“Okay. Can you help me up I really need the bathroom.”

When Lucifer returned from the cellar with the rare bottle of scotch he had promised to let Daniel try the apartment seemed empty. He was just starting to panic when Dan and the detective shuffled around the corner of the bedroom making their way slowly towards the steps. Lucifer grabbed three glasses and sat down on the sofa to wait for them.

“So you know and you’re okay with everything?” Chloe didn’t sound at all convinced.

“Yes. Look I know this is crazy. I mean the whole thing is crazy, right. The Devil, demons, angels, Crazy. But it also makes total sense in a crazy way.” Dan turned to look directly at Lucifer. “I’ve seen you go above and beyond to save Chloe’s life and Trixie’s. Not the actions of The Devil I was brought up to believe in. And you sure as hell don’t look much like The Devil.” 

“This isn’t my devil face, Daniel.” 

“What?”

“My face changes when my devilish side emerges, when you saw my eyes flash red that was just the start of my transformation.”

“Okay. Okay, hit me. Let me see it. How bad can it be?” Dan finished his drink and put the glass down on the table. He took a couple of deep breaths to steel himself, then nodded at Lucifer.

“HOLY SHIT!”

“Are you okay, Dan?” Chloe reached out to touch his arm. “Dan?”

“Okay, that’s terrifying. Can you put it away now, take it off, whatever.” Dan waved his hand at the other man. “I guess that explains the reaction you get out of perps.”

Lucifer allowed his face to return to normal. He stayed seated, watching the other man like a hawk, maybe he should have made Daniel put his gun somewhere other than his hip. “Would you like another drink, Daniel? Some drugs, maybe?” Never let it be said The Devil wasn’t a generous host.

“No, thanks. I think I need to go somewhere that isn’t here. I’m okay, just need to go.” Dan stood up and made his way to the elevator.

“I’ll call you tomorrow, okay Dan. You aren’t going to tell anyone about Lucifer are you?”

“Who the hell would believe me?” Dan muttered as the doors slid closed.

“That went well.” Lucifer smiled across at Chloe. 

“Really. You think that went well?” Chloe said incredulously.

“He can still walk and talk, he didn’t shoot me, he didn’t appear to have lost control of his bladder and I don’t think he’ll be booking flights to Europe anytime soon, so, yes. It went well. Anyway, how are you feeling now detective?”

“I think I need to lie down.”

“As you wish.” Lucifer helped Chloe back into bed.

“You’re overdressed again,” Chloe patted the bed. “Strip and come join me, then you can help me out of my things.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, detective. You need time to recover.”

“Please, Lucifer.”

His mouth said “No.” But his hands were already undoing buttons.

“Okay, that’s it.” Lucifer got up on all fours and carefully stretched out beside Chloe on the bed. “I will not cause you further pain.”

“Please, Lucifer, those were good moans not bad ones.”

“You do realise who you’re talking to, detective? I think I recognise a cry of pain when I hear it.” 

“Okay, you’re right but I’m more than happy to put up with a little bit of pain given the end result will be a LOT of pleasure,” Chloe didn’t know how far to go with this, how much information to give Lucifer, she didn’t want him flying off and doing something stupid but she needed this, needed him and so she continued. “I need you to replace his touch, when I go to sleep I need to see your face, feel your hands on me. Please Lucifer.” She studied his face for any warning signs but all she saw in his beautiful eyes was love.

“Where was I?” Lucifer kissed her cheek and smiled down at her.

She tangled the fingers of her good hand in his hair and guided him back down her body.

Chloe didn’t know it but at that moment Lucifer was fighting the biggest battle of his life. Rebellion against god, defeating Uriel, and hunting down demons in the bowels of Hell – nothing compared to this. Every fibre of his being was telling him to punish the man whose vile touch she needed wiped from her memory. To find him and tear out his still beating heart and consume it as he watched and drew his final agonised breath on the mortal plane. Then the fun could really begin. He needed that, as much as she needed this but he knew if he gave in to his monstrous urges, then he might as well return to Hell and stay there. There was no doubt Chloe made him a better man but more than that, she made him human. Almost. And so he stayed, he chose love over vengeance. He chose her.

Chloe tossed her head back and screamed his name to the night sky. 

“Wow. That was amazing. How did you do that, that thing?” Chloe struggled to get her breathing back under control, she had never felt anything like that, it had been so intense, so erotic so …weird.

“Just a little trick I picked up along the way, detective.”

“It felt like you were in two places at once, it was…wait. I’ve got it. You can fork your tongue.” Well, he was the devil after all.

Lucifer poked said tongue out, two narrow pink prongs flicked across his moist lips and waved at her before retreating back inside his mouth. 

“That has to be the weirdest thing I have ever seen. Very handy though.” 

“Well, let’s put it this way, detective. I never need to buy dental floss.” Laughed Lucifer.

\--0--

“Come on Decker, it’ll be fun. You’ve had that cast off for a week now, you can’t spend all your spare time holed up in the penthouse with Lucifer, I mean, not that that’s a bad thing, I’d imagine it was pretty good actually but still.” Ella grabbed Chloe’s hand, “Please. This is the first one I’ve organised I need you there.”

“Okay, I’ll ask Lucifer but I’m not making any promises. He’s not really a fan of sand.”

The beach party was in full swing, almost thirty of the officers and their families were dotted around the central makeshift bar and grill area, brightly coloured beach rugs and loungers littered the sand. Everyone seemed to be having a good time if the excited chatter and laughter was anything to go by.

“Did Chloe say anything about the party when you picked up Trixie yesterday, have you heard from Chloe today, has she persuaded Lucifer to come?” Ella inquired as she took another bottle of beer from the cooler.

“No, no and I doubt it. Can you imagine Lucifer at the beach?” Laughed Dan.

“I can now.” Exclaimed Ella. She pointed towards the dunes at the edge of the sand. Chloe and Lucifer were making their way towards the group, holding hands. Chloe was wearing a multi coloured crocheted dress over a bathing suit, her feet were bare and her sandals swung from her right hand, her hair fell in loose waves down over her shoulders. Lucifer was similarly dressed down, cream linen pants rolled at the ankles, his elegant bare feet kicking up the fine white sand as he walked, a pale blue, short sleeved shirt open to mid chest revealing smooth, tanned skin beneath. His usually perfectly styled hair was a mass of soft curls, a pair of sunglasses completed his outfit. They made a stunning couple. 

Picking a spot a short distance from the grill, Lucifer set down the large bag he was carrying, Chloe took out a blanket and spread it on the sand, throwing her shoes and Lucifer’s towards the corners to keep it in place. They headed towards Dan and Ella, carrying a six pack each to add to the cool box.

“Hi guys, sorry we’re late, we got a bit caught up in… something.” Well, each other actually thought Chloe. 

Ella gave them a knowing smile, “Way to go Decker.”

Trixie spotted them and headed up the beach. “Hi, guys.” She followed them to their spot and helped herself to some sunscreen from the bag before running off to re-join her friends further down the beach.

“She seems really pleased with the way things are going with her new room at Lux. You should see the bed she ordered, it makes yours look small.” Chloe was happy that Trixie would be able to stay over at Lucifer’s at least some of the time. She had no intention of moving in permanently, she had worked too hard for her independence for that but she was spending more and more time at the penthouse so Trixie having her own space made sense. 

“Wait until you see her television, detective. I had to tip the delivery men a hundred dollars each to bring it up the stairs as it wouldn’t fit in the elevator,” Lucifer quickly changed the subject before she had the chance to berate him for spoiling the urchin. “I’ll get us more food and some beer.” 

The burgers were surprisingly good, fat and juicy and Lucifer had to admit Dan was a master of the grill. He carried Chloe’s second and his fourth plate of food back to their place on the beach.

“I wish I had your metabolism, Lucifer,” Chloe mused as she watched him finish off his plate and yet another beer. “Don’t you ever put on weight?”

“No. Never. This is it until the end of time,” Lucifer looked down at his body as if to say why mess with perfection. “But for your sake, shall we wander down to the water to burn off a few calories?” Lucifer stood then reached down and pulled Chloe to her feet.

“Cheek.” She exclaimed but followed him anyway.

“What happens in ten years, or twenty? Lucifer how are we going to explain away your unchanging appearance, will we have to keep moving?” Chloe didn’t relish the idea of leaving family and friends behind but if it meant they could stay together then she would do what was necessary. 

“I’ve been thinking about that, detective. If angels do self-actualize which seems very likely then I should be able to actualise grey hair and a few wrinkles, I do draw the line at a pot belly though. If not, then we will just have to settle for people thinking you are the luckiest old lady in the world.”

“Well, a lot of people already think I’m the luckiest woman in the world, so no change there.” Laughed Chloe.

“How true, detective.” Lucifer pulled Chloe into his arms and swung her around, swaying in time to the music drifting towards them on the early evening air. 

“Thank you for this,” Chloe swept her arm in front of her, looking out over the ocean. Trixie and her friends were silhouetted against the blazing sunset, Dan and Ella were sitting on the sand enjoying the last of the heat from the now redundant grill as people began to say their goodbyes and drift away. “I know the world would be a very different place if you hadn’t returned to Hell.”

“You’re most welcome, detective.”

Chloe didn’t know how long they would have together, hopefully, her lifetime, at least. The important thing was they were together now. She would spend what time they had making Lucifer as happy as he made her, that was a promise.

THE END

Below is the link to the music Lucifer plays for Chloe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGUkP_xuhEg


End file.
